Immortal Blood
by Chloe Casey
Summary: Avalon Gaery (pronounced Guy-re) was as normal as any other ADHD dyslexic. She had trouble at school, frequently got into fights, and... found out she was a demigod. Avalon will travel with five strong-willed friends to find a kidnapped Percy Jackson. Grudges will be broken, new trusts will be made, and secrets will be revealed that will leave anyone shaking and wanting more.
1. Hello, Johnny Rosener: Avalon Gaery

Chapter One: Avalon Gaery

My name is Avalon Gaery, and there are a few things you need to know.

For one thing, I've been kicked out of several schools in the last year. For a long time, my mom, brother, and I had been crossing the country in hopes of a place we could settle down in. But we ended up going from Oregon to New York within ten years. We started moving around when I was seven, and barely two years later my brother moved away. All I could remember of him, besides his name being Felix, was that I hated his guts even more than a regular brother-sister relationship.

It was the beginning of November when I had the dream about a guy a year younger than me, about sixteen, and two other people at a phone booth. They were crowded around it, trying to get the person on the other side of the connection to listen to them. One of them had black hair and sea green eyes. Next to him was a girl with blonde hair and a guy with brown hair.

"This is to protect you," the girl said into the phone, "Now where are you? Where is your parent?"

She waited to hear a short response.

"Please I-" she began.

"Annabeth, let me talk to her," the guy with green eyes said, "I might be able to get her to listen."

"I don't know, Percy," the other guy said, "I think we'd be better if we just go off now and try finding her manually."

"Just let me try," he replied.

Uncertainly, Annabeth handed the phone over to him.

"Hello? Are you still there?" Percy said into the phone.

He paused to let the girl reply.

"Look, I'm pretty sure you don't know me, and I'm sorry, but I can't tell you my name. Your friend, Dominic Yuley, is he with you?"

There was another short answer.

"I know it's very confusing, but you need to get him and his brother over to your house right now. This is important. They are in danger."

The person on the other line shouted into their phone so loud Percy pushed the phone away from his ear.

"What? No! This isn't a prank. And who's Derick?" He paused. "Derick is Dominic's brother?" Percy looked a bit panicky. "No! Don't-" He cursed under his breath and slammed the phone down.

"Dominic has a brother?" Annabeth asked.

Percy nodded and looked at his other friend. "Grover, do you think you can track down where she is? Hopefully she still gets Dominic and his brother over-"

I sat up in bed, gasping for breath. What was that about? Shaking my head, I got up and got dressed. It was already five o'clock. If I wanted to be on time for school for once in a while, I'd have to eat breakfast pretty fast.

As it happened to turn out, my mom, Audrey Gaery, had prepared me bacon and eggs. After saying good morning, I sat down and began wolfing down my breakfast, already forgetting about my dream.

"Sweety, you don't have to eat everything in two seconds," my mom said.

I swallowed a bit of egg. "Todays an important day, Mom," I told her, "It's the day Johnny comes back from the hospital. And don't call me Sweety."

"Johnny's coming back?" She didn't seemed any bit more interested in my reasoning behind eating so quickly as she was before.

"I got a text from his dad yesterday," I explained, "The doctors finally think the cancer is gone. He's coming back. I don't want to be late."

She looked at me skeptically. "The cancer's gone? That doesn't just happen, though..."

I glared at her. "It _did _happen," I snapped, "That's what matters." I stood up. "Well, I'm out of here."

"Alright," my mom said, "Be good, though. And don't make any trouble at school."

"I'll do my best," I said as she kissed my forehead, even though I was thinking, _Yeah, like that's going to happen._

You see, I have a small track record with bringing trouble to schools. Well, I wouldn't say _small..._ After all, one nearly burned down. Another was nearly blown to bits. I went to summer school once to learn archery, and guess what happened? Several trees nearly fell on top of the headmaster of camp. I always got blamed, one way or another. I was surprised that I had lasted as long as I had at this school, Firzenax. And it was only a little over three months through the school year. Pretty sad, right?

My mom was driving out of the parking lot outside of where we lived when I walked outside with my backpack. I raced down the sidewalk and through the street to where the bus stop was, ignoring the people who honked at me when I crossed the street without looking either way. Breathless and out of energy, I stopped at the corner of two streets in the middle of a small crowd of people.

"Are you alright, Avalon?" the kid next to me asked.

I nodded my head and straightened up. "I could run for another mile, Dominic," I told him, smiling.

"But you made it on time," he teased, "You never make it on time."

"Today's special," I said, "because Johnny's coming back."

"Johnny's coming back?" Dominic gasped, "Johnny Rosener?"

I nodded, laughing in relief. "I got the text last night. His father said he's going to bring him over to the school today. He said he's well enough to come for at least a day."

"This is great!" Dominic said, "Johnny's coming back!"

"Rosener?" someone nearby said. I recognized Derick, Dominic's brother. He was probably one of the only people who didn't care if Johnny recovered. "The cancer patient recovered? Oh, that's a miracle, isn't it?"

I balled my fists at the sneering tone of his voice. Lucky him, the bus rolled up right then and there. Everyone hopped on.

There were several reasons that some people tend to miss when it comes to me being friends with Dominic and not Derick. They were brothers, had the same mischievous smiles, had the same curly black hair, but they were nothing alike, which is something Derick argued about a lot. But Derick was more of an evil angel while Dominic was a savior. Dominic had had the guts to actually say hi the first day of school when he had seen me sitting alone at lunch. Derick would only walk by me and try stealing something out of my pocket each day, hoping I wouldn't notice. Dominic had always gotten my things back, even if it did enrage his brother, who was a senior.

Once settled on the bus, Dominic and I pulled out our cell phones and texted as many people as we could about Johnny. We told a bunch of other people on the bus also, so even more people were texting others. When we got to the high school, it became apparent that they already knew. Johnny had been big news to the school when they found out he had cancer. They had been nice enough to fund the project that would rid him of cancer, and seeing him come back must be a huge announcement, seeing how there was a banner that read: _Welcome Back!_

"I wonder how many people already know," I said as we stepped off of the bus, "I mean, the school must've only just found out last night, but they probably are messaging the parents or something."

"It's possible," Dominic said, picking a few roses out of the school's flower bed. When I raised an eyebrow, he said, "If Johnny had a favorite flower, they'd better be roses."

I smiled at him. He'd always been considerate of others. He sometimes would even go the lengths of stealing to quench other's sorrows. He reached over and pulled a length of ribbon from a senior's pocket and wrapped it around the stem of the roses.

"You know, you shouldn't be stealing things from other people," I said quietly, waiting for the mob of people to go through the door.

"Is it really stealing if you're doing it for someone else?" Dominic asked.

"It justifies it, maybe," I told him, "but you're still stealing from someone."

He sighed. "Well, it being justified is enough for me."

We rushed up the stairs when we got to them and navigated around the halls to find our lockers. I said goodbye when he found his locker and continued on my way to find my own.

The day went slowly. Gym passed. Math dragged on. Social Studies nearly bored me to death. Science wasn't all too interesting. Language Arts came and went. And then Latin was interrupted with an assembly. Everyone went to the auditorium to see what was going on. Walking in, I saw the principal standing on the stage with the microphone in his hands. We were only waiting for a few minutes when he started.

"I've been hearing quite a few questions being passed around the school about the banister on the front of the school," Mr. Pardoa said, "Well, we have some good news for you. Everyone remembers young Mr. Johnny Rosener, yes?"

There was a lot of nodding and many people said, "Yeah."

"Just last night, around eleven o'clock, we got a message from Mr. Rosener's father about his condition," Mr. Pardoa said. He stopped, letting all of this sink in. A few people waited with baited breath. "It has been officially announced that he has been cured of cancer completely."

Everyone began clapping and standing up. A few people had tears in their eyes. I heard someone say, "He'll live!" A bunch of people were hugging their friends. The principal asked everyone to have a seat as the commotion died down.

"I have a printed version of what Mr. Rosener said," Mr. Pardoa told everyone, "Here, Mr. Rosener said, 'The doctors called it a miracle, but Johnny and I call it a blessing. We'd like to-' You know what? I'm not going to read this." He glanced over to his left. "Mr. Rosener, would you please come out here?"

Even I gasped as Johnny was rolled out on a wheelchair by his father, looking as if he had never left at all. Both of them were smiling big time. Someone started clapping, setting everyone else off. A few of the teachers whistled in congratulations as the microphone was passed to Johnny's father.

"As Mr. Pardoa has said," he said, "both Johnny and I call his recovering a blessing. Honestly, the doctors had almost given up by that time, but we kept on fighting. A few people called us foolish, some people called us downright stupid for fighting on and on, but now we can look them in the eyes and say, 'But look at where it got us, look at where we have gone.'"

There was even more clapping. Johnny whispered something to his dad and he was passed the microphone. The clapping died down momentarily.

"What my dad has said is true," Johnny said, and I was surprised to hear how strong his voice was, "but really, we couldn't've done it without all of you. I mean, the fund raisers, the hope you all gave not only me but my parents and their parents and everyone else in our family, we couldn't've gone very far without all of that, so here's a round of applause for all of you."

Everyone clapped again.

"Now, don't take me wrong when I say this, but there are two people out there in the crowd, at least I hope they're out there, and I'd like to recognize them especially," Johnny said, "Please welcome to the stage Avalon Gaery and Dominic Yuley."

A lump formed in the back of my throat as I stood up and walked towards the stage. Dominic did the same, still holding his roses in his hands. Everyone was clapping once again. And then Johnny surprised everyone once more by standing up and giving Dominic and I a big hug. He stayed standing.

"Avalon and Dominic both have regularly been paying me visits down at the hospital," Johnny said, "They joked around with me and talked to me. Each time they came around, I forgot about the cancer, I forgot about why I was in the hospital. They really did help me through this trying time."

Everyone began clapping, again. Someone shouted, "Speech!"

A lot of people chuckled at that, even Dominic, Johnny, and I. Johnny shrugged and handed the microphone to Dominic.

"Oh, er, lady's first," he said, and pushed the microphone into my hands, getting a lot of laughing out of that.

I shook my head. "Fine," I said, "I know a lot of you know I absolutely _hate _speeches, but I'll try my best. I really am glad about Johnny recovering, I mean, who wouldn't? It truly is a blessing that he has recovered. I don't think anything could really mess up this moment, right now. Nothing could."

Everyone clapped as I handed the microphone to Dominic.

"Now, er, I agree with all Avalon has said," he said, "And, if I was the principal of this school, I think this would deserve a party, right?"

I heard Johnny laughing quietly as everyone began cheering and couldn't resist laughing a bit also. Mr. Pardoa took the microphone.

"There will be one in the gym directly following this," he said, and the cheering got louder, "There will be food and drinks there. Please follow your teacher's instructions."

Mr. Rosener insisted Johnny sit back down in his wheelchair as everyone began filing out of the auditorium. Dominic clapped him on the back.

"It's nice to see you, bro," he said.

"Same here," Johnny said, "We'll see you in the auditorium, Mr. Pardoa."

The principal nodded and walked off.

"I'll be in the gym, Johnny," Mr. Rosener said, "I'll let you all catch up."

He walked over to the principal and together they walked out of the auditorium.

"So," I said, "what exactly happened before your recovery?"

Johnny rolled back and forth in his wheelchair. "Well, I can't really explain it," he said, "This man came in to say hi and gave me his condolences as everyone else did, and then he said, 'You will get better. I know you will.' It was weird, as if that guy had an idea of how I was going to recover. And..."

"What is it?" Dominic asked.

"Well, the guy, he had sandy hair, outdoorsy good looks, and a really bright smile." He looked at me a bit shyly. "Avalon, you showed me the one picture of your father. I think that guy was your dad."


	2. A Slight Case of Deja Vu: Avalon Gaery

Chapter Two: Avalon Gaery

The party was pretty awesome. Cake, soda, party streamers – all what a junior would want at a party. Except the nagging thought that my father was around somewhere, still alive and possibly watching over me. By the time it was the end of school, everyone was tired and stuffed and happy. And the nagging thought of my father being around was still with me.

"Hey, Avalon," Dominic said tentatively, "why don't I walk you home?"

"I'm fine, Dominic," I sighed, "I just... I need to think."

"Well, maybe I-"

"Dom, I'm glad you're worried about me, really, but for just today I need to be alone. Really."

"...Alright."

The bus rolled to stop. The two of us stood up, along with a few others, and we walked off the bus. Dominic stopped me before I could walk off towards my house again.

"Dom-"

"Avalon, just keep your phone on, alright? Just in case... just in case you want to talk or something."

"I probably won't want to talk about it, but sure, to calm your mind, sure."

"Thanks."

I nodded and walked away. After a mile of walking, I put the key for my house into the lock and walked in. I started my homework and chores like any other day.

It was only just getting dark when I finished making dinner, which was only a sandwich. My cell phone started ringing. I sat down with my sandwich and looked at the caller ID. Funny thing, it didn't have one. So of course, being completely curious in almost anything, plus ADHD, I answered the phone.

"Hello? Who is this?" I asked.

"Oh, thank the gods you answered," a female voice replied, "Though, this probably isn't a very good idea-"

"I'm sorry, but do I know you?" I asked.

"No, I don't believe you do," she said, "But you have to listen to me. Are you at your home?"

"Why do you want to know?" I replied. One thing my mother had told me was to never tell anyone about where you were unless you knew them and trusted them.

"This is to protect you," the girl said, "Now, are you at home? Where is your parent?"

"I'm not going to tell you," I told her.

"Please, I-" She stopped as if someone else was talking to her. I heard whispers, but I couldn't figure out what they were saying.

"Hello? Are you still there?" It was now a guy's voice. He sounded more familiar than the other's.

"Yes, I'm here. Who are you? And do I know you?"

"Look, I'm pretty sure you don't know me, and I'm sorry, but I can't tell you my name. Your friend, Dominic Yuley, is he with you?"

"What? No. Why are you asking me this?"

"I know it's very confusing, but you need to get him and his brother over to your house right now. This is important. They are in danger."

I started getting angry. "This is a prank call, isn't it? You're just another one of Derick's gang members, aren't you?"

"What? No! This isn't a prank. And who's Derick?"

"Yeah, right. You know who he is, you just said his brother's name!"

"Derick is Dominic's brother?"

"I'm hanging up now."

"No! Don't-"

I put down my phone, shaking my head. Derick had sent me prank calls quite a lot since he and I had begun arguing with each other. They always got worse and worse. As I finally settled into eating my sandwich, however, I began thinking about what I had heard before my brother had left the house. There had been a lot of yelling.

"Mom, you know I have to go!" Felix had shouted.

"I'm not letting you go out there with a pack of wolves, Felix!" my mom argued.

"You know that me staying will only hurt both you and Aves even worse!"

"What about you?"

"Oh, don't you go and pretend to have cared about me for the past few years. I know that you and her have hated me, but you _know _that I had to do that."

I blinked, coming back to the present. I didn't like thinking about that day, most of it I didn't really understand, but I had begun to, little by little, see what my mom and brother had been talking about. Ever since seventh grade, when I had started learning about Roman and Greek mythology, I had a bit of a hint of a truth that seemed way too impossible.

But it added up.

The wolves my mom had talked about, the things I had seen over the years – giant mastiffs with glowing red eyes, chicken-lady hybrids, men with one eye – they were piecing together. I just didn't want to believe it.

I picked up my phone and texted Dominic, _Can you come over?_

Within a minute, I got his reply: _Sure. Is something wrong?_

_No. Nothing's wrong._

He didn't reply, so I had a feeling Dominic was getting ready to leave.

_And bring your brother._

I waited a moment. _Why?_

_I'll explain later, just come over. Please._

I hoped I didn't sound too pleading.

_Why? What is wrong?_

_I can't explain in text message. Come over. I'll tell you then. And bring your brother._

He didn't reply. I hoped he was coming over. I had an aching feeling that I really shouldn't've hung up on those people. For the next thirty minutes, I was on edge, not being able to even watch TV. For a while, I just paced around the house, waiting for Dominic to knock on the door. Then I heard it, three repetitive, urgent bangs on the door. I rushed over to the door and opened it, barely looking out the glass panel before engulfing Dominic in a tight hug. Bewildered, he patted my back.

"What is wrong?" he asked, "I told my mom it was an emergency, I thought something was off-"

"Where's Derick?" I asked.

"He went around the house to try the other door," Dominic told me, "Now, what is going on?"

"Come on in," I told him as I heard several knocks on the back door.

I rushed over to the door and told Derick to come inside.

"So," he said, "you actually invited me over."

"Did you tell anyone to prank call my phone?" I asked immediately.

"What?" Derick said, "No, my friends and I only do that on Wednesdays."

"What's wrong?" Dominic asked.

"Some people called my phone and said you two were in danger," I told him, sitting down at the kitchen table, "They told me to bring you to my house. I didn't know what else to do-"

"Avalon, we aren't in any danger," Dominic said, "It was probably just a prank call, but not from anyone Derick knew."

"I know, I just... overreacted, I guess," I muttered.

"There's something else, isn't there?" Derick said.

"I might as well just explain what happened, shouldn't I?" I took a deep breath. "There was a girl and a guy. I talked to the girl first. She asked where I was, and obviously I didn't answer. She said that she needed to know in order to protect me and then she asked where I was and where was my parent. She said it as if she knew I only had a mother. Then the guy was put on the phone. I swear, I've heard his voice before, but I can't place his name. That was when the guy told me you two were in danger. Dominic, that man, whoever he was, he singled you out, but he didn't know that Derick was your brother."

They were both silent for a moment.

"He said my name?" Dominic asked.

I nodded.

"Nobody I know would do something as cruel as that," Derick said.

Suddenly, someone began rapping on the backdoor. I stood up, but Dominic grabbed my arm.

"I don't know, Avalon," he warned.

"I'll be fine," I insisted and walked into the other room as three more raps on the door rang out in the silence. Making it to the door, I opened it. It had begun raining and it was dark outside, but the light from the door was enough to show three teens standing in a huddle, looking over their shoulder nervously. There were two guys and a girl. One of the guys had sea green eyes and black hair with a streak of grey in it. The girl had golden blonde hair, was tall, athletic, and fit, and had stormy, distracted eyes. The other guy had brown hair, brown eyes, and a wispy goatee. My eyes widened, because I knew exactly who they were.

"Perseus Jackson?" I breathed, "What are you doing here?"

. . . . .

"How do you know my real name?" Percy asked.

I shook my head, not sure if I should explain about the dream I had. "I don't know," I mumbled, "Come on in."

"Whoa, Avalon, what are you thinking?" Dominic said, "You don't know these people."

"Yes, I actually do," I said, "Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and Grover Underwood. Trust me, I know who they are."

Annabeth's hand immediately went to her side, but Percy grabbed her wrist, almost subconsciously.

"Come on in," I said again.

They came inside, dripping wet.

"Now, why are you all here?" I asked.

"Well, um," Grover said, "it might be a bit of a surprise, but we believe you are all half-bloods."

"Half-what?" Derick said.

"Half-bloods," I sighed, "Half god, half mortal. And by god, I'm talking about the Greek and Roman gods."

Percy looked at me curiously. "Did you know about this or something?"

"Yeah, I did," I said, grabbing some towels and throwing them to the three strangers, "Dry yourselves off, then we can talk."

Derick looked at me as if I was crazy. "Avalon, I know I've done some pretty harsh pranks on you in the past, but really? Is this the best you can do?"

I glared at him. "I'm not joking around. My friend from Oregon got chased by some freakish, six-foot tall, fireball throwing monsters. I wasn't meaning to eavesdrop, but I heard someone talking to them about Camp Half-Blood, a safe haven from all the monster that like killing demigods for fun."

"Stupid Canadians," Percy muttered.

"Excuse me?" I said.

"Giant, fireball throwing monsters?" he told me, "Lastrygonian giants. They like staying up in Canada, but every now and then they cross the border."

Dominic was still recovering. "How are we supposed to take your word on this?"

"Well, let me just guess about something," Annabeth said, "You've got ADHD and dyslexia and you've spent most of your life bouncing from one school to another. You're restless and can't help it that you're good at fighting people."

"How'd you-"

"The ADHD is because of the inborn battle instincts," she explained, "The dyslexia is there because you're hardwired for Greek, not English."

I glanced at Dominic. "Haven't any of you seen any strange monsters before? Like giant dogs with red eyes, or just regular kids wearing full battle armour?"

Alarm flashed on their face. "Yes," they both said.

I walked into the living room and began going through a bookshelf. "Remember how I said to you two that I've gone from California to Maine before coming to New York?"

"Yeah," Dominic said, "But what's that have to do with anything?"

I stopped for a moment and looked at him. "I've been expelled from just about every school I set foot in. Mainly because teachers are monsters and hide behind masks." I turned back around.

"What are you looking for?" Grover asked.

"A book," I said simply.

"Why?" he continued.

"I need to show you something," I told him.

"Why do keep on staring at me?" Derick snapped at Annabeth.

"You look like an old friend of mine," Annabeth said quietly, "You look like Luke."

"Okay, who is Luke and who are all of you?" Dominic asked.

"They're half-bloods," I answered before anyone could say a word, "Percy is the son of Poseidon, Annabeth the daughter of Athena. Grover is a satyr."

"What?" both of them said.

I suddenly found myself pinned to the bookshelf with Annabeth pressing a knife to my throat.

"Annabeth!" Percy shouted.

"Do you know what could happen if they aren't half-bloods!?" Annabeth shouted, "Do you know-"

"They look like Luke, don't they?" I said quietly, "What if they're father is Hermes?"

She let me go, looking back at Dominic and Derick. Percy was holding back Dominic while Derick was doing absolutely nothing. Grover bleated uncomfortably.

"Annabeth, we should really just get out of here and bring them back to Camp Half-Blood, explaining things on the way," he said, "Who knows how long we have until the next monster comes around? I mean, if you and Percy are pretty appetizing to the next Gorgon, what about you two plus these three?"

Percy and Annabeth both looked troubled by this.

"We aren't going anywhere with you until you explain," Derick said.

"Alright, how's this?" Percy said, "The Olympian gods – Zeus, Poseidon, Hades – they're all still alive. Annabeth and I are the son and daughter of them, but have a mortal parent. Grover is a satyr, which is half goat, half man. And you two and her are also sons and daughter of the gods with a mortal parent."

Derick laughed. "Do you really expect us to believe this?" he asked.

"It would explain things," I retorted, "Which is what I've been trying to say for a while now." They waited for me to explain. "My teacher, old ladies, little girls – they seemed to morph into different things and try to kill me. They called me 'Half-blood' or things like that. I never really thought about it until now, but it would also explain why I've never had a father around. I have a photo of him, that's what I'm looking for."

"You have a photo of your father?" Annabeth repeated, "Show me."

I continued rummaging through the books in the bookshelf. "I can't remember which book I put it in, but it's in here somewhere."

"Just keep on-" she began, only to be interrupted by a low creaking sound.

Looking over to my right, I saw one of my mother's favorite rugs fall into a hole in the floor that had definitely not been there earlier. I walked over, looking over the edge.

"There's a ladder," I said, "I'm going down to check out what's down there."

"I don't know," Grover said, "I don't like the way things smell around here."

"This is where I live," I argued, "If there's any part of this house I haven't been to, I'm entitled to explore it."

With that, I began climbing down the ladder. After a moment, someone else began climbing after me. The climb was fairly short. When I felt my feet touch the ground, I turned around to see, well, I couldn't see it was so bright.

"Whoa," I muttered, "Way too bright."

After a moment, the light died away. I stood there, staring at the walls of a long storage space. What caught my eye wasn't the array of sharp, pointy swords and knives, but was the bow at the very end of the hall.

The bow was glowing faintly. It was golden, but looked like any old bow you would find anywhere in the world. I walked up to it and ran my hand over it's length. To the side of it was an empty quiver the same color as the bow. I picked up the bow, surprised to find it being so light. There was a sharp intake of breath from the ladder and I turned to see Dominic staring at the swords and knives all around him. He finally focused on me.

"This was all here, but you never knew about it?" he asked.

"I suppose so," I said.

Derick came down, followed by Percy and Annabeth.

"I'll just stay up here then," Grover called down, "You all can go underground all you want."

Annabeth came over to my side. "That is a nice bow."

"This... this bow..." I said, "I believe it was Hercules's bow."

Annabeth looked me in the eyes. "If it is, it is extremely powerful."

Experimentally, I aimed it away from everyone else and pulled at it's string. A golden arrow appeared on the string, right between my middle and index fingers. I nearly dropped the bow I was so surprised.

"No release," I whispered, and the arrow disappeared. I lowered the bow and found everyone watching me. "Yes?"

"Can I see that?" Annabeth asked.

"Sure." I handed the bow to her. "Be careful with it."

"I will," she promised, then did the exact thing I did with the bow, except no arrow appeared. She frowned. "Why does it do it for you, but not me?"

"I don't know," I admitted, taking the bow back.

"Per-r-r-cy!" Grover bleated from upstairs, "Get up here! _Now!_"

"I'll be right back," Percy said, climbing back up the ladder.

Annabeth ran up to Derick and Dominic. "Find something that suits you," she ordered, "And then come upstairs. Whatever you do, don't attack anyone you know."

"What if we really hate them?" Derick asked as she climbed the ladder.

"Just don't kill each other," Annabeth called back down to us.

I turned around and grabbed the quiver for the bow, slinging it over my back.

"What should we pick?" Derick asked.

"Something that suits you," I suggested.

"Like a longsword?" he asked.

"I don't know," I admitted, taking a medium sized knife off of the wall, along with it's sheath, and attaching it to my belt, "Just get something that feels right in your hands. I'll be up there with Percy, Annabeth, and Grover."

Dominic caught my wrist. "Be careful," he said, "I still don't trust them."

"If they are who they say they are," I replied, "They've fought things worse than gods and made it out with no more than a scratch."

I climbed up the ladder. Percy, Annabeth, and Grover were staring out a window at a mammoth size rottweiler with two heads. My jaw dropped.

"Is... is that-?" I stammered.

"A giant rottweiler come to kill us?" Grover whimpered.

"No... I mean..." I shook my head. "Isn't that... Orthrus? Cerberus's brother?"

"Yes," Annabeth said.

"How are we going to kill _that?_" Grover moaned, "Unless there was a time when Hercules-"

"Hercules killed Orthrus during the days he preformed the twelve deeds or whatever they're called," I said distractedly, "But all he did was club him on the head."

"How do you know that?" Annabeth asked.

Blinking, I refocused on her. "What?"

"How did you know Hercules clubbed Orthrus on the head?" she asked.

I shrugged. "You like architecture, I like mythology," I told her.

"I suppose we can't just club Orthrus on the head, now can we?" Percy asked.

"He's probably learned his lesson," Annabeth and I both said at once. Looking at each other, Annabeth continued, "I don't suppose you have a dog?"

I shook my head, avoiding Annabeth's unwavering gaze. "Even if we did have any, I don't think that is going to work again," I said, "Cerberus wasn't as ignored as Orthrus. Cerberus got to guard the dead and what did Orthrus get to guard? Some cattle Hercules was after. I have a feeling that, if Orthrus had a heart like Cerberus, he doesn't have one anymore. And I think I have a plan."

"Er, no offense-" Percy began.

"You haven't even heard my plan, Perceus Jackson," I snapped. He flinched when I said his full name. I took a deep breath. "Sorry," I said grudgingly, "I haven't been in an exactly _good _mood since I saw my one friend earlier today."

"It's alright," Percy said, holding up his free hand, "I really shouldn't be upsetting people with bows-"

"Especially _that _bow," Annabeth put in.

I sighed. "Are you two going to continue going on about the reasons why I shouldn't be angered, or are you going to let me say what I think?" I asked.

"What are you thinking?" Grover wondered.

"If I can get Orthrus's eyes shot out with my bow, I think we can get someone on top of his back," I said, "Annabeth, do you have your magic cap with you?"

"Yes," she told me.

"Do you think you can climb up onto Orthrus's back and stab him in the head?" I asked.

"Whoa, hold on for a moment," Percy said, "Don't you think it's a bit dangerous-"

"Don't you think it was a bit dangerous for you to go head on with Kronos?" I replied. He shut his mouth, but looked as if he still had something to say.

"And I have done things worse than climbing a six foot dog," Annabeth put in.

"Of course," I continued, "we'd have to distract Orthrus to keep him from attacking Annabeth. Grover, I suppose you can use your reed pipes for-"

"I could snare his legs in vines," he offered.

"I suppose so," I said.

"It could work," Annabeth said slowly. Her eyes moved back and forth as if she were examining a paper.

"Then let's get started," I said, walking out of the front door.

I stood with my bow, looking at Orthrus from behind a bush. It had always felt natural to have a bow in my hands. I almost always got a bullseye at the camps I went to. But this was a bit different. I had never shot at a live target before, for one things. For another, I was looking at a six foot tall, two headed rottweiler. Taking a deep breath, I pulled back on the string. Like before, the shimmering arrow appeared in between my fingers. Concentrating on my breathing and Orthrus's one eye, I let loose my arrow. There was a loud howl of pain as I fitted another arrow to the string. I shot another arrow. It hit it's mark also. I hoped Annabeth had started creeping around to Orthrus's front leg as I shot my third arrow. Another howl broke the silence. My hands trembling, I fitted another arrow to my bow. Taking another deep breath, I let loose my last arrow. Grover began playing music from his reed pipes. I didn't know what music he was trying to play, but I had a feeling the song wasn't suppose to sound like a funeral march.

I heard Percy whistle somewhere to my right as I fitted another arrow onto my bow. Letting it loose, I heard the door to my house open up. Derick and Dominic stood by the door with swords in their hands. Their eyes widened.

"Is that-"

"Get under cover!" I hissed, which was probably my first mistake.

Having lost his vision, I guessed Orthrus's hearing had been boosted. His two snarling heads turned towards me as he began marching forward. Thankfully, he was slowly approaching, not knowing what was where anymore. Unthankfully, Orthrus was crossing most of the distance between him and I in less time it would take for a car to drive by. I had no choice but to run away from Derick and Dominic, so they wouldn't get harmed. While running, I fitted another arrow to my bow. Letting it loose, I caught Orthrus in between the eyes. Mistake number two. Orthrus just found out exactly where I was coming from. He began trotting down the street, heading right for me.

Obviously, I wasn't going to last long with a six foot tall dog being my competitor, but I managed to keep the same distance for a while. I heard Annabeth shout something, but over the roar of the wind and the growling from Orthrus, I couldn't hear her. I shot another arrow at him, managing to get him near his adam's apple. Percy was starting to run after us, as were the Yuley brothers. Grover was frantically playing with his pipes, but it was obvious he was doing it in vain. As I was loading another arrow onto my string, I stopped short, seeing a small knife grow from one of Orthrus's hind legs. Orthrus stopped also. Turning around, he growled, looking right at Dominic. The four of them immediately scattered, but Dominic couldn't get out of the way before Orthrus threw him into a brick wall with his head. A sudden surge of anger rose through me. I pulled back on my string again.

"No one messes with my friends, dog," I snarled, letting loose the arrow. I shot one after another after another of those arrows, making a line across the beast's side, but still Orthrus continued to attack, only slightly limping. He was about to turn around once more when he suddenly stopped, looking as confused as a giant, two headed rottweiler could look. Then he just popped into sparkling gold and black dust. I waisted no time in running to where Dominic had been thrown.

He had a nasty cut over his forehead and he seemed to be only just conscious. Percy knelt next to me, closely followed by Derick. Grover trotted over with a bedraggled Annabeth.

"Dom?" Derick said, "Dom, can you hear me?"

"Hmm..." Dominic muttered, "What happened?"

"A six foot tall, two headed rottweiler tried killing you," I said calmly. I looked at Derick. "Can you carry him back to my house?"

He nodded and we all stood up. It wasn't all that far to my house. We ran as fast as we could.

"What are you thinking of doing?" Annabeth asked as I opened the door to my house.

"What do you think?" I replied, "I'm going to help Dominic with his wounds. This isn't the first time I've had to do something like this, you know."

I walked into the kitchen, throwing open the cabinets as Derick set down his brother on the couch in the living room. Percy came to my side.

"What are you looking for?" he asked.

"A first aid kit," I said, "I might need some water, can you get me some?"

"Sure."

Finally, I found the first aid kit. I rushed over to Dominic's side, unzipping the small bag and looking through it for a cotton ball and some alcohol. Finally, I found a small bottle of alcohol and a cotton ball. Unscrewing the cap, I said, "Dom, this is going to sting, be ready."

I pour some of the alcohol onto the cotton ball. He winced as I dabbed at his wound with it.

"How do you know to do this?" Derick asked.

"To tell you the truth," I replied, "I've been in more monster fights than I thought at first."

I began digging around for a large bandaid and an antibiotic. Finding one of each, I put the antibiotic on the bandaid and put it on Dominic's head wound. He winced again.

"That's just about all I can do," I said, "Dom, do you think you can sit up?"

"Maybe," he said.

Dominic sat up slowly.

"Can you see fine?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Any dizziness?"

"No."

"Are your ears ringing?"

"No."

I sighed in relief. "That's good."

"Why?" several people asked.

But it was Annabeth who answered, "Looks like Avalon was checking to see if Dominic had a concussion."

I nodded my head as sirens rang out from somewhere far away, yet still close to the house. "We should probably get out of here," I advised.

"Yeah," Grover said, "I really don't want to go to prison explaining about my feet."

"What's-" Dominic winced. "What's wrong with your feet?"

"We'll get into that later," Percy said quickly, "We should get going."

I walked over to the hatch that had opened up a little while ago and shut the door closed. Pulling the carpet over the door again, I stood up.

"If we're going where I think we're going," I said, "we're going to need money to get there."

"Seriously," Percy said, "You're kind of freaking me out with all this I-know-everything-about-you attitude."

"Do you really think I'm not freaked out to see a satyr in my living room?" I replied, "And a mythological monster just attacked us! I'm kind of freaking out also."

"Anyways," Grover said, looking a bit offended, "We need to get going. If we're going to grab anything, we should do so now."

I walked into the kitchen again and pulled out a backpack from one of the cupboards, beginning to stuff anything fit to take with us.

"Does this kitchen have everything in it?" Grover asked.

"I believe there's a recycling container over there," I said, pointing over my shoulder, "Aluminum galore."

He trotted off to check it out.

"Derick," I called, "I'm guessing you know where my bank is?"

"Kind of," he said slyly.

"Can you go get it?" I asked.

I heard his feet pounding on the stairs, so I assumed he was going to get my bank. Percy began helping me stuff things into the bag.

"Avalon, can I talk to you for a moment?" he asked quietly.

"About?" I replied, though I knew exactly what he was going to say.

"Why does it seem as if you hate me?" Percy asked.

My hands stopped moving. So he wasn't about to say what I thought he was going to say. I wouldn't look him in the face. "Percy," I whispered, "let's not talk about this here, alright?"

"Whoa!" I heard from upstairs, "Avalon, you have, like, a thousand dollars up here!"

"Bring it _all _down here, Derick," I shouted. Shaking my head, I began putting more things into the bag. "Derick steals everything," I told Percy, "If you want to keep that pen of yours, I'd keep it on your person at all times, or in a safe with about thirty different locks."

"Is he really that good of a pickpocket?" Percy asked.

"Dominic's better, but yeah, he's pretty good," I said, "Both of them can yank a lanyard off someone's neck and they wouldn't notice. I also have a feeling that half of the things they own wasn't previously theres."

"They sound like the Stoll brothers," he said, "Sons of Hermes."

Annabeth came into the room. "We need to hurry," she insisted, "Those police cruisers are going to be here any moment."

I zipped up the bag as Derick came into the room with my box of money. He tossed it over to me.

"Your pockets," I sighed.

Rolling his eyes, he took a twenty out of his pocket.

"_All_ your pockets," I restated.

Grumbling about annoyances, Derick handed me another hundred dollars. Putting it back in the box, I put the money in another pocket in the backpack before slinging it over my shoulder.

Dominic came in the room, a bit unsteady, but pretty good compared to the fact he had been thrown twenty feet into a brick wall. "Where are we going to go?" he asked.

"There's a safe place in Long Island Sound we can go to," Annabeth said, "There's a camp there for half-bloods like us where we can train for the tasks of killing monsters that attack us and our friends. Anywhere else, monsters will come and attack us one after another or all at once. And trust me, you don't want to be out there now that you've found out about yourselves."

"Why should we trust you?" Derick asked.

"I trust them," I said, "and if you stick around, you're going to have to answer a lot of questions you can't answer when the police get here. If you do answer them, you'll probably be brought to an insane asylum and killed by monsters there."

By then, they both looked pretty persuaded. I took a hat off the wall and tossed it to Dominic.

"You should wear that," I told him, "We don't need anyone asking us about what happened to your head, nor do we need to be brought to a hospital."

He put on the hat.

"Smart thinking," Annabeth said grudgingly, "but I don't think we'll be able to go around with that bow in your hands."

I looked at the bow. I had a feeling I would be horrible with swords in battle, even if they were easier to conceal. But Annabeth had a point, we weren't going to be able to go anywhere unnoticed with a bow in my hands. Almost without thinking, I twirled the bow in my fingers. Percy stepped out of the way as I tried stopping myself, but I failed to do so. Then the bow began shrinking. In the blink of an eye, I was wearing a golden ring. I blinked, not believing my eyes.

"Whoa," Dominic said, "How'd you do that?"

I shook my head, but spun the ring on my finger. Within a second, I was holding a bow again.

"Weird," Derick muttered.

I twirled the bow again and I was wearing a ring once more. "I think we have a solution to our problem," I said meekly.

Grover nodded, but seemed troubled about something. "Let's get going, then," he said.

We decided to take the Transit Bus to the closest place to Montauk. I paid for the tickets, but I had the feeling that the driver was a bit suspicious of six teens riding on a bus without parents. The way things ended up, I was sitting next to Percy, the Yuley brothers were sitting together, and Annabeth and Grover were sitting together. I leaned my head back on the seat.

"So..." he said awkwardly, "What sorts of things can you do that most people can't?"

"What?" I asked.

"I can breathe underwater, because I'm a son of Poseidon," Percy explained, "I'm stronger around water. Most kids aren't. What are the things that make you different than other people?"

I thought about it. "Besides beings able to shoot things from thirty yards away... I can play piano really well. Nothing else, really."

"How long have you been playing piano?" he asked casually.

"Since I could walk," I said, "People said I was a natural – I could play music the first time I saw it and only make a few mistakes. I could even play Chopin Scherzo No. 2 Op. 31 at the age of six."

He gave a low whistle.

I gave him a sideways glance. "You have no idea what I'm talking about, now do you?"

Percy shook his head. "It sounds complex enough for me."

"I still mess up on that song."

"From what I hear, that's what a lot of musicians say, even though they're pretty darn good at what they do."

"Musicians are modest."

"Apollo isn't."

I shrugged. Moments later, I sat up straighter. "Whoa, wait a moment."

"Is something wrong?" Percy asked.

I slowly turned to look at him. Green eyes, black hair. "So weird," I whispered. Had I seen him in a different dream, too?

"What is it?" he asked.

I took in a deep breath. "It's probably nothing," I told him, even though flashes of my dreams from a long time ago, even more vivid than before, streamed through my mind. A massive lightning bolt, a submarine full of dead confederate soldiers. Everything from the past few years flashed back to me. My face must've betrayed me, because Percy narrowed his eyes. I looked away and out of the window.

"Avalon, if something's wrong," he told me, "if there's something you know, we should know also."

"It's nothing, Percy," I insisted, "False alarm."

"Avalon-" he started up again, but I stopped listening when I saw a guy a little bit up the road, reading a newspaper. I had the feeling it wasn't the _New York Times, _but, almost as if he sensed me looking at him, he put down his newspaper, smiled and waved at me.

His smile was dazzling and perfectly white without any trace of stains or debris or anything. He was barely older than me, with sandy hair and outdoorsy good looks. My jaw dropped, because he looked so familiar. The bus started breaking down, smoke coming in through the windows. I stood up, and before Percy could even put his hand out to stop me, I stormed off the bus.

With my hand over my mouth, I went through the fog to where the man had been. Traffic was jammed, as usual, so I only got honked at on the way over to the opposite side of the road. I heard my name called out once, twice, three times, but I didn't stop. I _needed _to find that man, and I an idea that I told any of the others who I thought it was, they'd stop me and tell me it's a trap. I didn't care, though.

Because that man, however young he looked, was my father.

By the time I had made it to the other side of the road, he was gone. I had been expecting that, but, almost exactly as if he was there, I could see the man walking away. The apparition turned and smiled, as if knowing I was there, and he continued walking away. I knew full well not to shout out, "Dad!" but it was tempting. I mean, if you lived for seventeen years without a father, thinking he was dead, and then one day you think you see him walking down the street, smiling as if he knows your his daughter, wouldn't you want to shout his name, too?

My dad turned into an alleyway. I ran to catch up with him. It seemed as if the alleyway was a small maze, but I managed to follow him through it. After a few moments, the dim alley glowed with a harsh golden light. When my eyes adjusted, I saw a bow in my father's hands, the Golden Bow. It was magnificent, intricately carved, and radiated power.

"No way," I muttered. A bow like that had been described in myths, being held only by the god Apollo.

I should've ran when I saw that bow, I really should've. But I still needed to talk to him, at the very least. I was so focused on the apparition, I barely knew that the actual Apollo was standing several yards away, the string on his bow pulled back. Even so, I kind of got the clue when the apparition was beginning to draw his bow. I scrambled out of the way as a loud twang sounded out in the silence. Then there was a sigh of relief, but it wasn't me. Cautious now, I poked my head around the corner, seeing Apollo's Golden Bow shrinking back into nothingness. He looked at me apologetically.

"Sorry, kid," he said, "Didn't mean to frighten you."


	3. The Knowing of Things: Avalon Gaery

Chapter Three: Avalon Gaery

"You are Apollo, right?" I asked.

He studied me. It made me nervous, but seeing how I was already there, I couldn't just walk away anymore. And being shot at was just about as good a summons from a god than anything.

"Why'd you follow me?" Apollo said casually.

"I have a picture of you with my mom," I replied, "I thought you were my dad."

"Well, you are my daughter," he said, "With the way you handled that bow earlier, I'm surprised you even have doubt in your mind about it."

My nervousness vanished. He was proud of me. "I just like being sure of things."

Apollo walked closer to me, looking at me curiously. "There's something about you I can't place that is off."

I met his gaze. "Could that be that I'm a bit too curious for my own good?"

Apollo chuckled a bit. "No, though that may be part of it," he said, "You know, I know some pretty cool things about most people, but you, you're different." Gingerly, he lifted my hand so that my palm was facing him.

"Yeah, there is definitely something about you that is off," he said again, "I don't know what, but I have a feeling we will all find out soon enough. Keep that ring with you at all times, Avalon, you never know when a rude awakening will find you."

His words made me feel uneasy, but I still managed to hold my ground. "Percy... I believe I had a dream of him last night," I said.

"Percy is almost always essential in the end, Avalon," Apollo said, "but that does not mean he must be in every plan. I mean, the kid has already been in one of the biggest prophecies made by who's oracle?" He looked triumphant as he spread his arms out. "_My_ oracle."

I smiled. My dad was awesome.

Apollo checked his watch. "Hmm... Lord of the Skies wants to see me soon." He shrugged. "I can put it off for another question."

I heard someone shout my name behind me.

"Should I tell them about the dream?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I don't know." He flashed that dazzling smile again and took an envelope out of his pocket. "Give this to Chiron when you get to camp, will you? Tell your brothers and sisters I said hi."

Apollo started glowing. I had enough common sense to look away; I had an aching feeling I would fall to ashes if I saw Apollo's true form. I put the envelope in my pocket.

"Avalon!"

I turned, finding a red-faced Annabeth.

"What were you thinking?" she shouted, "You can't just run off like that!"

"I saw Apollo," I said calmly, "He was smiling and waving at me."

Annabeth seemed to finally see the large arrow in the side of the wall. "Did he...?"

"I think it was a test," I said, "A test to see if I was his daughter."

"Avalon, gods don't need tests to see if you're their child, they already know," Annabeth said, "And plus, Apollo knows things, he doesn't really need to ask for everything."

"That's what I was thinking," I told her, "Until he told me he couldn't read anything about me."

"What do you mean?" Annabeth asked.

"I'm a blind spot for him," I explained, "He has the gift of prophecy and future seeing and everything, but he can't see me. He needed to test me. I passed."

I walked away from her, towards where I had come. Flashes of my dream continued to come to me. I had a feeling the urgency in the way the flashes came and went meant that I should tell at least someone about it. Annabeth walked after me, silent. My head started swimming and I tripped over my feet into the nearby wall. Annabeth ran up to me and helped me stand. She paled as she looked me in the face.

"Your – your..." She pointed to her nose.

I passed my hand under my nose. It felt wet and warm, so, naturally, I looked at the blood on my fingers.

But it was golden, not red.

"H-How?" I stammered.

She shook her head. "Ichor," she mused, "Blood of immortals."

I stumbled again, wincing as a sharp pain hit my gut. Annabeth managed to keep me on my feet. A small fraction of my brain was pleading with me to tell her about my dream, but I wasn't sure yet.

_Tell, _whispered a voice in my head that was definitely not mine.

She looked over her shoulder and shouted, "Percy! Get over here!"

I only closed my eyes. I wasn't going to tell Annabeth. I couldn't give in to that voice. A tremor ran through my body.

"Avalon?" Annabeth said, "What's wrong?"

"He – he wants me to tell," I gasped. I knew it wouldn't hurt to tell her that.

"Who wants you to tell what?" she asked, "Is it Apollo-"

I shook my head as the pain lessened. "It isn't Apollo," I whispered, "It's someone else, I – I don't know who."

_Tell them._

I shook my head. "I can't tell, he'll find out," I said. My knees hit the ground as the pain redoubled and I grabbed the sides of my head.

"Annabeth?" It was Percy. "Avalon? What happened?"

"She just – I don't know," Annabeth said, "I think someone's trying to force something out of her."

"Avalon, do you know who it is?"

I shook my head, swallowing dryly. "No, I-" I stopped as my mind went blank and one word stayed. "Titan."

The pain subsided and I slumped in Annabeth's arms. I knew both Annabeth and Percy were pondering what I had said. I didn't even know where it had come from. I heard feet pounding towards Percy, Annabeth, and I, and what suspiciously sounded like hooves clopping on the pavement.

"What happened?" Dominic asked.

When Annabeth and Percy didn't answer, I straightened up and shook my head. "I don't know," I said, hugging my legs tightly.

"What were you saying about titans?" Annabeth asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know. The word just... came to me."

"But are you alright?" Dominic asked from next to me.

"I'm fine," I told him, leaning on the brick wall to stand up.

"You don't look fine," Derick said.

"I'm fine," I insisted, "And we really should get to Camp Half-Blood."

"What's the rush?" Derick asked, "I mean, really, what else can be out here that would want to kill us?"

"Medusa," Percy said.

"Or a band of Titans more powerful than the gods," Annabeth supplied.

"Polyphemus," Grover told him with a shiver.

"Hellhounds," I put in, "and skeleton warriors that don't die."

Percy raised an eyebrow. I shrugged.

"You never know," I told him, "We should get going."

"What did Apollo say to you?" Annabeth asked.

"Wait, she saw Apollo?" Grover bleated.

"Yeah," I said gloomily, "He's my dad. He told me to keep this with me." I held up my hand with the ring on it. "And he said there was something wrong with me. Now, can we go?"

Percy and Annabeth looked at me knowingly, while everyone else just looked apologetic. Still a little shaky, I began heading back to the street. Dominic caught up with me after a moment.

"What did he say, exactly?" he asked.

"'There is something about you that is off.'"

"It might not mean that something is wrong with you," Dominic said, "He is said to be the god of prophecy, right?"

"Yes," I said, "Dominic, I am glad you want me to be happy, but right now, I just want to get to that camp, talk to Chiron, and shoot a target with my bow. I'm not really in the mood to discuss my dad as if he is still just plain old mythology."

We managed to make our way to the streets again. Dominic started to say something, but seemed to think twice about it. We were silent for some time. The bus was about to get started again. I shook my head. Even with the knowledge that the gods were still alive, I couldn't believe Apollo's timing. I climbed back on the bus and sat down. This time, Annabeth managed to get the seat next to me.

"You bled Ichor," she hissed under her breath when the bus started up.

"You think I didn't notice?" I replied.

Annabeth hesitated before continuing. "You're immortal, that must be why," she decided.

"I wonder when that happened," I said sourly, "I'm pretty sure I've bled a few times and it came out red. Now it's gold?" I shook my head.

"The gods once allowed Percy the opportunity to become a god-" she began.

"For me, being immortal would be a curse," I growled, "I've never liked the concept of living after my friends, and then after the friends I'd make then. I couldn't do that to Dominic or Derick or Johnny or any of the people I know. I am not a goddess."

"...Who's Johnny?" Annabeth asked.

Taking a shaky breath, I brought my legs up on the seat. "Johnny is a friend of mine, and he was a cancer patient," I said quietly.

"Oh," she replied.

"Yesterday," I continued, "Johnny came in to school. He had recovered from the cancer completely. After announcing the news to the school, he was talking to me and Dom. He told me that, right before recovering, he had met a man with sandy hair and outdoorsy good looks. He said that he had healed him of his cancer. Isn't that like Apollo?"

Annabeth was silent.

I buried my face in my legs. She was probably right about me being an immortal. Why else would I bleed Ichor? And that meant I would live far past anyone I knew, even my mom. Almost tentatively, Annabeth patted my back consolingly.

"I won't tell the others," she whispered, "If you want to tell them, you can."

I looked at her gratefully. "Thank you," I said.

Trees whipped past us for about an hour or so. The first rays of light started appearing when we switched buses. Dominic had seen my break down and was, obviously, concerned. His brother only said that I was over it and that was good news. Grover looked at me funny, as if thinking of a possibility that wasn't all too possible. Percy, predictably, was staying around Annabeth most of the time, no doubt trying to find out what had gone on.

"I can't tell you, Percy," Annabeth said from a few seats behind me and Dominic, "It's... personal. Really personal"

At the next stop, Annabeth was sure we had to get off and walk the rest of the way, if not take a taxi somewhere close to Half-Blood Hill. I looked at the sun, shaking my head.

"What is it?" Dominic asked. Being the first words said in who knows how long, everyone looked over.

"I know the time exactly," I told him, "It's weird."

"You know the time?" Grover asked.

"It's 6:42 and 31 seconds."

Percy checked his watch. "It is," he said.

We were silent a little longer.

"Exactly how far are we going?" Derick asked.

"Not all that far," Annabeth promised.

"Like, not all that far for a demigod that had been in training for a few years, or not all that far for people who haven't trained for being a demigod?" Derick replied.

"Just walk," Annabeth said.

No one really talked after that. After walking for a real long while, Annabeth and Percy stopped walking, pointing up at a pine tree with a dragon wrapped around its base. Something shimmered in its branches.

"Camp is right over that hill," Annabeth said, "The hill's called Half-Blood Hill. No monster can get through the borders, that's why most demigods go to Camp Half-Blood. The tree is guarded by a dragon, Peleus, so be careful when going near the boundaries."

"Do we have to walk uphill?" Derick moaned, "We must've walked at least a mile from the last bus we were in."

"I've had to run a mile just to get to the bus stop," I said, "I think we can go a little further."

We began trudging up the hill. I had a weird feeling in my stomach that was somewhere around nervousness and relief. Derick grumbled about steep climbing and fictional characters the whole way to the top. Peleus stood, shaking his mass of coppery scales. Derick and Dominic flinched away, but I managed to stand my ground.

"It's alright, Peleus," Annabeth said soothingly, but the words didn't seem to have any effect on the dragon. He only growled.

I took a step back, which was probably the worst mistake I could've made. The dragon advanced.

"Avalon, stay still," Annabeth advised as she crept forward.

I tried staying still. In fact, my muscles probably locked together. Grover bleated uncomfortably.

"They're our friends, Peleus," Annabeth continued, "Avalon, Dominic, and Derick. They're half-bloods."

The dragon seemed to waver on his decision to attack us.

"They're friendly," Annabeth promised, "They don't want to harm anyone in camp."

After what seemed like forever, Peleus stepped back and coiled around the tree again, but his yellow eyes never left my face. Annabeth quickly pushed me towards the other side of the hill. I made no protest in getting away from Peleus as fast as possible.

At the bottom of the hill, there was a mass of cabins in the shape of a Greek Omega. I counted twenty in all, and several others still under construction. A few kids were climbing a rock wall, which tended to spew lava and clash together every now and then. An open-roofed dining pavilion lined with Greek columns was on a hill overlooking the sea. Horses and pegasi were grouped around a stable, while others were being flown in the air or ridden on the ground by campers. A forest was dominating one side of camp and a strawberry field was growing on the other side. And then there was the Big House. Annabeth told us that Mr. D and Chiron, the camp directors, were probably in there.

"Who's Mr. D and Chiron?" Derick asked.

"Have you learned nothing about mythology your whole entire life?" Annabeth replied.

"If they have learned anything about mythology," I said, "They probably just forget it."

"Who's this?" said a new voice nearby, "More new campers?"

Percy stopped to glare at a tall girl with stringy blonde hair and pig-like brown eyes. "Yes," he said, "Dominic, Derick, and Avalon."

"You wouldn't mind if I talked to them before Mr. D does, now would you?" she asked.

"Actually, I do mind, Clarisse," Percy seethed, "Now get out of here."

Clarisse put an arm around an uncomfortable looking Dominic. "I won't be long, I promise-"

That's when I snapped. I had been chased by a six foot tall, two headed rottweiler, who _did _attack my best friend; I was nearly killed by my father; and _then_ I found out that a Titan was trying to find out about my dream, which was obviously not good news. On top of all that, a supposedly tame dragon tried attacking me. I twirled the ring on my finger and pulled back on the string of my bow.

"Get out of here," I snarled.

Nobody moved. They all looked shocked about the fact I had even thought to pull out my bow. A few of the other campers were looking over now also. I shot my arrow next to Clarisse's foot and pulled back on the string again. Clarisse got the message. She took her arm away from Dominic's shoulders.

"Avalon," Percy said carefully, "please, put down the bow."

Although I really didn't want to, I whispered, "No release," and the arrow disappeared. Twirling my bow, I continued to walk towards the Big House in an even bigger temper.

"Avalon!" Dominic called, "Avalon, just wait a moment!"

I continued to walk towards the Big House. Percy managed to grab my arm. I twirled around to face him.

"You really shouldn't just waltz into the Big House without being asked to," he said, "Mr. D gets really angry when people do that."

I yanked my wrist out of his hand. "Then, by all means," I hissed, "go ahead of me."

He hesitated before leading the way into the Big House.

"Chiron!" he called, "We've found a few more demigods!"

A man with brown hair and eyes and a scruffy beard rolled into the room in a wheelchair. He looked at each of us in turn.

"What are your names?" Chiron asked.

"Avalon Gaery," I said with an air of annoyance.

"Dominic Yuley."

"Derick. I'm his brother."

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you," Chiron said, "I'm Chiron, and I am the activities director for around camp. I'm guessing Percy or Annabeth or Grover explained everything?"

"They didn't really need to explain after a six foot tall dog tried killing us," Derick said.

"A six foot tall-" Chiron began.

"Orthrus came and attacked us," Annabeth said, "Cerberus's brother."

"He hasn't been around since Hercules slayed him," Chiron said, "Why is he here now?"

"No idea," Percy said, "We managed to kill Orthrus, and then Avalon basically ran after Apollo-"

"Yes, yes," I said irritably, "We had a nice little chat in which he tried shooting me with his bow."

"Apollo tried shooting you with his bow?" Chiron said, "You didn't get hit? How?"

"It's a bit complicated," I told him, "But he told me he's my dad... And he gave me a message to give to you. _Alone._"

Everyone was quiet. I held my gaze with Chiron. "Can I speak to you alone, Sir?"

"Sure," he said, "Right this way."

He wheeled his chair into the other room. I followed him, the envelope in my pocket feeling heavier than it had before. The room had a table in the center with a bunch of chairs surrounding it. I guessed that this was the place where the cabin leaders held meetings.

"What did Lord Apollo want you to tell me?" Chiron asked.

"He didn't want me to tell you anything," I said, taking out the envelope, "He wanted me to give this to you."

Chiron opened the envelope. The letter must've been pretty short, but his hands shook ever so slightly. I leaned against the wall.

"He told me he was my dad," I said after a moment, "yet I have the feeling he told you not to trust me."

Chiron looked up, seeming a bit startled. "What if he did tell me that?"

I fiddled with the ring on my finger. "I would tell you that he's a _very _smart god," I replied. I only glimpsed at his confused expression before I slipped back into the other room. All of them looked up from where they had chosen to sit. Dominic and Derick were on the couch and Annabeth and Percy were facing them. Grover was nowhere to be seen, so I assumed he stepped out or something. Annabeth and Percy had been starting to explain a bit about the real world, from the looks of it.

"What-" Dominic began.

"Doesn't matter," I interrupted, "I'm pretty sure Chiron is going to think over what I told him, so..."

I noticed a guy sitting a little ways away from Annabeth, Percy, Dominic, and Derick. The man had a chubby face with watery, bloodshot, blue eyes. He wore a tiger-striped hawaiian shirt which only clashed a bit with his nearly-purple hair. Mr. D raised an eyebrow.

"You finally noticed me, now have you?" he grumbled, "The most powerful person in the room, the last to be noticed?"

"Please, excuse my lack of observance," I said sarcastically.

"Avon Geary, right?" Dionysus said in a bored monotone, "You nearly shot Carrie in the foot with your bow?"

"It's Avalon Gaery. The 'A' and 'E' are pronounced like the Latin dipthong," I said. Derick and Percy snickered. "But yeah, sure, I nearly shot Clarrise through her foot. What's it to you?"

"Avalon," Annabeth warned.

Dionysus only laughed, though. "You truly are Apollo's daughter, though you show most of his darker side."

I clenched my fists. "Bacchus – I mean, Dionysus, right?"

"Got it right on the second try," he praised, "That must be an accomplishment for you."

I was about to retort, but Annabeth stood up and quickly said, "Why don't we show all of you around camp, and show you your cabins?"

"Good idea," Percy said, catching on immediately, "Come on."

The two of them, followed by Dominic and Derick, nearly dragged me out of the door. On the porch, I shrugged them off me.

"Avalon, don't take what he says too seriously, alright?" Percy said, "Mr. D tends to try to anger campers into fights, only so that he can vaporize them."

"And you don't only show Apollo's dark side," Dominic added.

"Thanks," I muttered, "I feel _so _much better."

Annabeth pursed her lips as we neared the basketball court. She was probably thinking about me being immortal.

Annabeth and Percy introduced us to the kids at the basketball court, showed us the chariot track, and then walked us to the lake. A hippocampus, a sea creature with the front part of a horse and the hindquarters of a fish, came to the edge of the shore and whinnied. Percy sighed.

"Another animal tangled in a fishing net?" Annabeth guessed.

Percy only shook his head in annoyance before running and jumping into the water. Within seconds, he was lost from view.

"How can he stay down there for so long?" Derick asked after a moment.

"He is the son of Poseidon," Annabeth reminded him, "Percy can breathe and go further underwater than anyone else can. His father also made horses, so he can talk to any equestrian animals, which includes horses, pegasus, hippocampus and many other creatures."

"Cool," Derick said, looking over the edge and down at the water.

We waited about ten minutes for Percy to resurface and skid back to the shore.

"Sorry about the wait," he apologized, "Hippocampi and their annoying sense of gratitude..."

They showed us the climbing wall, which Derick seemed to think he could get at the first try. The stables were full of campers who were being helped out by the Aphrodite cabin. I've never been one to notice anyone's beauty, but I have to say, they were most likely the most well groomed campers out of the whole entire camp population. The Hephaestus cabin was spending their time in the forges making prototypes and weapons. Then we got to the cabins.

There were two at the bottom and then five on each side. At the end of the five, four other cabins spread out to make an omega symbol. One of the two at the bottom had bronze doors with a holographic feel, so it looked like thunderbolts were coming down on it. The one next to it had gracefully slim columns. I guessed Jupiter and Juno – sorry, Zeus and Hera owned those cabins. Another had a trident and a seashell over the door; that had to be Neptune, er, Poseidon's cabin, the one Percy stayed in. Sorry, I usually talk about the gods as Roman, not Greek. I'll try and keep it to Greek for now on.

Demeter's kids were walking in and out of a cabin with grass for the roof. Rock music blared from a crude red cabin with a boar's head over the door. By the way barbed wire lined the roof, I could tell it was for Ares's kids. A grey building had an owl design over the door, which was the sacred animal of Athena. A silver cabin looked like it had been deserted for several years. Knowing my mythology, I recognized the parallels between the color of the moon's rays and the color Artemis was mostly recognized with. I nearly mistook a cabin as a factory before glancing at a wooden house with a blue roof, pillars, checkerboard deck, and grey walls. The one with smoke coming out of it was obviously Hephaestus's cabin, while the one drowned in perfume was most definitely Aphrodite's. A brown cabin had paint peeling off of it. Seeing how I could see, even from this distance, how overflowing the cabin was, I could tell it was Hermes's. Another was lined with grape vines and I couldn't help but think of Dionysus. Then I saw the one that was obviously the cabin for Apollo's kids. I had a feeling it was golden, but with the sunlight reflecting off it's sides and roof, I wasn't sure where the sun's rays started and the gold began. I heard Derick whistle next to me.

"Someone got creative, didn't they?" he said.

Percy followed my gaze, putting his hand up when he looked at the Apollo cabin. "How can you stand to gaze at that cabin?" he asked.

"Why do you think Artemis called her brother a big, fiery ball of gas?" I countered.

"Good point," Percy said.

"The Hermes cabin is down there," Annabeth said, pointing down at the cabin with brown walls, "That's where you two are going, until it is determined exactly who's your godly parent. Meanwhile, Avalon will be in the Apollo cabin, the one you can barely look at. Percy, you can take Derick and Dominic."

He nodded and they walked off.

"As soon as I get into that cabin," I told Annabeth, "I'm checking my backpack. I have a feeling Derick pulled out a few water bottles and I just didn't realize."

"I think the two of them are Hermes's sons," Annabeth said, "If what you say is true, they're going to get along just fine with the rest of their cabin."

Making it to the Apollo cabin, Annabeth knocked on the door while shielding her eyes with her other hand. I resisted the urge to gasp when the door was answered.

The kid had the same surfer-athletic body many people had noted me for having. He even had the same sandy, sun-kissed hair I had. He was also very tall, he could've been six-foot easy. Slung over his shoulder was a bow and a quiver.

"Hey, Annabeth," he said, then noticed me, "Oh, I heard there was a newcomer. Is this her? Why is she here not at the Hermes cabin?"

"Avalon Gaery," I said, "I managed to chase down Apollo. He told me I was his daughter."

He raised his eyebrows as he shook my hand. "Will Solace. Cabin counselor."

I nodded my head. "Nice to meet you."

"Right back at you," he said.

"Don't let her out of your sight," Annabeth advised, "I have a feeling she might get in even more trouble with the Ares cabin."

"I can protect myself," I said, "And the last time I got away from you, I ran through a street and chased a god. It's not all that bad, is it?"

Will looked at Annabeth. "I'll try keeping her in my sights. Well, anyways, come on in, Avalon, make yourself comfortable."

Inside, things were a bit less bright. It looked like a regular, everyday inside of a home. It was crowded, with people still rolled up in sleeping bags on the ground. I did my best not to step on anyone as I was brought to a free space and given my own sleeping bag. A few of my half-brothers and -sisters had fitted their bows and quivers to the wall. Lyres, guitars, violin cases, anything music related was strewn around the rooms. First aid kits were placed here and there, with more advanced, less used equipment scattered under the bunks and on dressers.

"It isn't much," Will whispered, "but we tend to get by."

"If anything, I'll adjust," I said.

"I was just heading out to the Archery Range," Will said, "You want to come?"

"Sure," I said, putting my stuff down and navigating my way back out of the cabin.

"I couldn't help but notice you have a quiver, but no bow," Will told me.

I twirled my ring and was instantly holding a bow. "I have a bow," I said, "There was a cache of half-blood weaponry under my house back in Upper East Side, Manhattan. The two other demigods I came with, Dominic and Derick Yuley, along with myself, took a weapon or two for safe keeping on the way over here. I took this bow. I later found out I could twirl it-" I did so. "-and I'd be wearing a ring."

Will continued to stare at the ring. "I heard you nearly shot Clarrise in the foot earlier," he said, "That true?"

"Yes," I said.

"Why'd you do that?" he asked, "I mean, Clarrise is a daughter of Ares. She and her cabin-mates can do some pretty serious damage."

"If you were chased by a six foot tall, two headed rottweiler, who threw your best friend twenty feet into a brick wall, and then you chased after the guy you think was your father, only to be shot at by the one god who might actually hit you, wouldn't you be a tad bit on edge by the time some idiot had the nerve to walk up to you and ask those around you if they could show your head to the toilet?"

"I suppose I see where you're coming from."

The Archery Range wasn't in much use this early in the morning. I twirled my ring again.

"Did you run out of arrows when attacking that two headed rottweiler?" Will asked, taking an arrow out of his quiver.

"No," I told him, pulling on the string of my bow. He stared as the arrow appeared on the string. "It's magic."

"It's just not everyday you see things like that in camp."

I aimed at the target and shot the arrow. The arrow met its mark. Will shot his arrow. He, too, managed to get a bullseye.

"I don't suppose there's a piano in all this camp?" I said, pulling on the string of my bow again.

_Twang._

"Chiron might have one in the Big House. He always liked classical music." _Twang. _"Why?"

"There's a piece of music I've been trying to get better at playing." _Twang. _"I could never get my mother to buy a piano. Of course, me always cursing in Italian seemed to get on her nerve after about the tenth time of me messing up on violin, so I guess having one instrument in the house is enough for her."

"You speak Italian?" _Twang._

"One of my step-fathers could speak it." _Twang. _"I had to learn it."

_Twang. _"You speak any other languages?"

"I know a bit of Latin." _Twang. _"Learned about it in school. I don't have dyslexia, so it was pretty easy to learn."

"I wonder why they don't teach Greek in schools."

"Maybe they think it would be too hard on the students or something."

He laughed. "Yeah. Too hard."

There was a low whistle from behind me. Caught by surprise, I spun around, putting my knife to Derick's throat. His hands shot up. I put my knife away.

"My gods, Derick," I said, "Don't do that to me."

"Bit paranoid, now are you?" Derick replied, "Maybe you shouldn't be carrying that knife around."

Will hadn't even put his bow down. "She has good instincts," he said. _Twang. _"The names Will, Will Solace."

Finally putting down his bow, he held out his hand.

Derick shook hands with him. "Derick Yuley." He looked between the two of us. "You two look so-"

"We're relatives," both of us said. Glancing at each other, Will continued. "My father's Apollo, her father is Apollo. Most of us look the same as the other, at least with the hair and eyes."

Derick nodded, though he didn't look completely reassured. He looked back over at the targets we'd been shooting at. "Both of you have some pretty good aim," he said.

"Moving targets would be better," Will said, "I've been trying to get some Hephaestus kids to make a few automatons that would stop running around once hit in a certain area or something, so I think that's going to be solved in a week or two."

"Still, both of you sliced through all your other arrows," Derick said, "I could never do anything like that."

The sound of horses hooves echoed nearby.

"Chiron's coming," I told the two of them, "I think he wants to talk to me. Alone."

Both of them looked over.

"Why would he want to talk to you alone?" Will asked.

I shot my arrow. "He has his reasons."

"Could it be about what you-"

"Derick, you aren't supposed to talk about that," I said quickly, "But yes, he probably does want to talk about that."

"Good morning, young heroes," Chiron said in an upbeat voice, "Would you mind if I borrow Avalon for a moment?"

"Nah, it's fine," Will said, pulling Derick away from the Archery Range.

I pulled back on my bow.

"You said that if Apollo told me not to trust you," Chiron said, "that he would be smart for saying so. Why?"

I let loose my arrow. "I've met Apollo already," I told him, "He's the god of prophecy for one thing. For another..."

I put down my bow. "Has Annabeth explained what happened after my talk with Apollo?"

The centaur shook his head. "Why would you ask?"

I looked away and pulled on the string of my bow again. "I believe a Titan was trying to get me to tell Annabeth about a dream I had the other night." _Twang. _"I don't know why he wanted to know about it, but he was putting me through a lot of pain to hear only a few sentences." _Twang._ "It was only when Percy came and asked me who it was that my mind went blank with only one word in my mind. That word was 'Titan'."

"What was it the Titan wanted?" Chiron asked slowly.

"I can't tell you," I told him, "If I say it, he can hear it. That's why you shouldn't trust me. I'm a liability. And if the titans _are _already coming at us again, this early, they have us when we're down in numbers. Many people died in the last war, right? Many of the titans' people died as well, but they are starting up early. Why do you think they'd do that?"

Chiron clopped uneasily. "You don't think they had a back up plan?"

"Kronos-" Even in this peaceful land for all demigods, things became cooler and more sinister with that one word. "-always has a back up plan, at least, that's what I hear."

He was quiet.

"This is not good news," Chiron said after a moment.

"No, it is not good news," I agreed, "It's horrible news."

I twirled my bow around my fingers, instantly seeing a golden ring on my finger. A prickling pain started behind my eyes. I tried ignoring it.

"If what you say is true, and what you say is heard by the Titan, whoever that may be," he said, "be careful with what you say."

I nodded, absently rubbing my eye with the heel of my hand. "I've been keeping the fact in mind."

"Even so, be more cautious than you have been," Chiron advised, "If you have to, I would start writing rather than talking."

"It's a good idea," I said, "but everyone here is dyslexic. They won't be able to read my handwriting."

"They aren't completely hopeless," Chiron said, "They can decipher it."

"Maybe I can write in Greek or something," I mused.

"You probably can."

I yawned. "I should probably catch up on my sleep. I'll see you around, I guess."

I walked away, back towards the cabins. I had a feeling Derick was finding something to steal while his brother was either being looked at by one of my siblings or just sleeping. Some more of the kids in my cabin were waking up. They blearily said hi, barely noticing how I was new. Almost as soon as I hit my makeshift bed, I fell asleep.

I hate it when I have dreams. Most of them are really vivid, for one thing. For another, they always came true. When I fell asleep in my cabin, I had a dream.

I was in a place with a roof so high I could barely make out the stalactites on the ceiling. In front of me, dangerously close, was a chasm bigger than a city block. I could hear wind whistling in my ears, I could smell things I shouldn't've even known about, like the smell of blood and rotting corpses, but I couldn't move. My feet weighed a million tons.

_Your punishment was decided long ago, _laughed a voice from deep inside the chasm. It wasn't gravely, but it was old and like a whisper.

I wanted to ask about what the person was talking about, but I couldn't find my voice.

_Try, puny hero, try to fulfill your own wishes. Making you immortal was only one thing I could do from down here. What do you think I can do when I'm back on the surface again?_

I was angry. Whoever it was had made me immortal. They had taken away my mortality to make me suffer through living passed my friends and family. I could move my fingers.

_No, no. None of that, now._

The ground shook and I was thrown to my hands and knees. I could move again. Scuttling away from the edge, the piece of ground I had been on just a moment before broke off from the mainland and fell into the chasm.

_Very good, brother._ This was a new voice. It sounded like knives scraping against each other. _She might be of use._

The two voices laughed together and I sat bolt upright.

Dominic had been shaking my shoulder. He jumped back when I sat up.

"Hey, it's time for dinner," he said.

I stood up. "Cool," I told him, "I'll be there in a moment."

"... Alright." He looked a bit unsure, but he left the cabin.

When he was safely away from the cabin, I sat down on one of the elevated beds. So I _was _immortal. A few Titan brothers were cooking up a plan for me. I ran a hand through my hair, breathing deeply. Then I stood up and walked over to the dining pavilion.


	4. Passing Notes: Derick Yuley

Chapter Four: Derick Yuley

Eating at Camp Half-Blood was better than eating out with my mom and my brother. The Hermes cabin brought us to our table and gave us our food, but told us to hold on eating. I was a bit impatient. Being attacked by a giant dog was hard work. Still, I managed to not eat anything until we had all thrown some of our food in a fire for the gods. Don't ask me why gods liked the smell of burnt food. They just do.

Connor and Travis Stoll sat in front of us at the table. Their hands kept fidgeting around as if they couldn't wait until they could steal something else. I checked my pocket.

"Hey, did you two see where a twenty dollar bill went?" I asked.

"What? No," Connor said immediately, but I had a feeling he knew exactly where my twenty dollars were. I was already planning on how to get it back. Or how to get revenge.

"How do you like it around here?" Travis asked.

I looked around the pavilion. "Well, there's a beach, we get to practice killing each other with sharp, pointy swords, and I haven't seen Avalon yet, so..." I nodded. "Yeah, I like this place."

Dominic elbowed me. "Dude, not cool, Avalon saved both our lives already."

"Doesn't change the fact that she's arrogant and just plain nasty to me," I replied, shrugging.

He shook his head and bit into some pizza.

"So, you were saved by a girl," Connor noted.

"Dude, she's more cyborg than girl, I swear," I told him, "She can hit any target from way further than sixty feet. She's like a cylon, for God's sake."

Dominic snorted. "You only say that because you're scared of her."

"I'm not scared of _her,_" I defended, "I'm scared of that freakin' bow she has."

All three of them burst out in laughter.

I felt my face go bright red. "Oh, stop it, you'd be scared, too, if you saw her."

Dominic lightly tapped the table as he fought for air. "Jeez, Derick," he chuckled, "I never thought that you would be afraid of Avalon."

I sighed. Great, I made a total fool of myself on the first day I was in Camp Half-Blood. Now how would I make a good rep for myself?

"I heard there was Capture the Flag sometime this week?" I said, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah," Travis said, still trying to stop laughing, "Every Friday. But it's pretty intense, so the wait is worth it."

"So, like, we have four days to train before we're tested against other people in real combat?" I summed up.

Connor shrugged. "Happens to everyone. And you'll probably be doing a lot better than you think. We did when we came around."

"Should've seen Percy the first day he was here," Travis added, "He took on Clarisse and her gang without breaking a sweat-"

"Though he did break her spear," Connor finished.

I raised an eyebrow. "It seems like Percy was in everything around here."

"Well, he's the son of Poseidon," Dominic said, "I mean, Poseidon's the brother of Zeus, he's said to be really powerful. I bet Percy and all the children of Poseidon are too."

All of us stared at him.

"What?" he asked.

"Not many people just make assumptions like that," Travis told him.

"I might not know a lot about mythology," Dominic said defensively, "but I'm not _that _hopeless."

I shrugged and began eating again. Avalon had been into that sort of stuff for a while, or so she said, and she knew practically everything there was to know about Greek and Roman mythology. Dominic spent as much time with her as possible, so I wasn't surprised when he came home one day with all that geeky stuff rubbing off on him.

"But, yeah, Percy's the son of one of the Big Three," Connor continued, "There hasn't been one since World War II, so he was pretty big news in the beginning. Then it came about that there was a prophecy about him..."

"And Zeus's lightning bolt had been stolen..." Travis said.

"Zeus thought he stole it," both of them concluded, "and a new prophecy was made for him to retrieve it. It was either that or World War III."

"What's so important about a lightning bolt?" I asked.

Both of them looked at me as if they couldn't believe I had just said that.

"The Master Bolt is the most dangerous weapon known to the _gods,_" Travis said carefully, as if just talking about it could earn him a nice zapping, "It threw Kronos off of his throne and sheared a mountain's top off."

I blinked. "Who's Kronos?"

All of them sighed.

"Seriously, Derick," Dominic said, "Do you listen to anything that you have been told?"

I thought about it for a moment. "It depends."

He shook his head. "Kronos is the Titan of time. Father of Zeus and his brothers and sisters. He took control of everything in the world once and was a horrible ruler."

"So he's this really annoying guy who hates everyone?" I asked.

"More like an evil mastermind that wants all mankind dead," Connor muttered, "In August, he nearly took control of Olympus. Again."

Dominic winced, but I didn't know why he did.

"That freak storm, too," Travis said, "Kronos had that planned out and ready for the Olympians."

I vaguely remembered that week. And a mountain. I pushed the thought aside.

"Let's stop talking about depressing matters, though," Travis said hurriedly, "I think it's almost time for the bonfire."

"Bonfire?" I repeated.

Dominic pulled a hand over his face. "You're hopeless. They told us about that on the way over here."

"Oh, yeah," I lied, "Now I remember."

He frowned at me, seeing right through my lie, but didn't say anything. Connor and Travis stood up and told us to follow them to the amphitheater.

"I wonder what the Apollo cabin's doing this time," Connor said.

"I don't know," Travis replied, "They're always cooking up something different."

As it happened, the Apollo cabin just sang songs and played music that everyone knew the lyrics to. I sat there, being bored. My brother didn't even try handing the s'mores over to me – he knew I hated them. I saw Avalon in the midst of the Apollo kids, singing and playing an instrument. How she could do both at the same time, and without any practice at all, I had no idea.

"Come on, Derick, have some fun," Dominic said.

I glanced at him. "Singing around a campfire and eating s'mores," I told him, "Not exactly my favorite pass time."

"Seriously, dude," he said, "Just try to not be antisocial."

"I'm not antisocial," I snapped, "I just don't like campfires."

"Why?" my brother sighed, "They're awesome."

"I broke my leg at a campfire," I reminded him, "And then I got burned. In the face."

"That happened when you were eight," he said, "It's been ten years."

"And the day has haunted me ever since."

He shook his head, and then abruptly stopped. "What's that sound?"

"What do you mean?" I replied, "All I hear is pretty music."

"No," my brother said, "Forget about the music. Something's coming from over there."

Dominic pointed in the general direction of the woods. I sighed, but tried concentrating on any noises over in the woods. Time to play big-brother-checks-for-the-scary-monster-under-the -bed game again. After about three seconds, I leaned back and shook my head.

"Nope, nothing," I said.

He gave me his daily third glare.

I didn't typically mind that Dom and I butted heads everyday. I mean, most siblings do, right? I didn't mind the fact that he stole from me, or that he was pretty annoying. But I did mind the fact that he hated my guts.

"Look," I said, "I can barely even hear _you_ over this music, much less a sound way in the forest."

"And, what?" he muttered, "Your ears are broken, too?"

I scowled at him. "My ears aren't broken."

He looked away, back down at the Apollo kids, and began humming the song they were singing. I looked in the opposite direction, trying to forget about the argument. A sour taste still filled my mouth.

The music stuttered to a stop as a howl pierced the air, just barely close enough to hear, but pretty far off. I looked Dominic. So there _was _some sort of sound that he had heard.

"What was that?" someone whispered from the front row.

A giant, black mastiff jumped into the light of the fire. It's eyes glowed like coals had been dropped there. A few campers screamed and ran in a panic. Some drew their weapons. Others, like me, just sat there looking stupid, staring at the hellhound. When it barked, someone pulled Dominic and I to our feet. I recognized the Stoll brothers.

"Go back to the cabins," they said, "You'll be safe from the hellhound there."

They started to go, but Dominic stopped them. "What about the others?"

"We'll be fine," Travis promised, "But you two need to get to the cabins. You aren't-"

The hellhound pounced on a section of demigods. They scattered. Dominic ran down the amphitheater. I chased after him, cursing under my breath.

"Dominic!" I shouted, "Not exactly the time for being hero!"

Then I saw what he was so interested in: Avalon was on her own, right in front of the monster. I ran a bit faster and caught up to Dominic, putting an arm across his chest. He kicked at me, but I didn't let him go.

"Dude, that's suicide," I said.

"She needs help," he argued.

I didn't think so. Not a bit. Avalon had her bow already drawn, and the hellhound looked at it apprehensively. She let loose an arrow, striking the monster in its forehead. It reared back and she shot it again. Two more arrows made the thing burst into sparkling glitter. I released my brother, but ran after him.

"We should get to the cabins," I said, "We have no idea what to do against hellhounds."

"We can just shoot them up," Avalon offered.

"Or we can be smart, logical people, and wait until we're fully trained to actually do a single thing," I argued.

"They'll send out a party to find out if there were any in the woods," Avalon said, "I can-"

Light blared over us. Blinking, I looked at my brother, seeing a burning staff with two snakes wrapped around it floating over his head.

"Dear Hermes," I mumbled.

"He's our dad," Dominic stuttered.

We looked at each with grins on our faces. "Awesome!"

Avalon shook our shoulders as the symbols disappeared. "Guys, we need to go and help the others out."

"I don't know about you two, but I think I'll take my chances in the cabins," I said.

Dom ignored me. "You can't go out there and hunt those things!"

"Yes, I can Dominic," Avalon argued, "It may not seem as if it's the case, but I know what I'm doing."

"These campers are even afraid of hellhounds," Dominic said, "They must be pretty dangerous if trained demigods are afraid of them."

"She'll be in good company," I said, "Why not let her go?"

"It's dangerous!" Dominic exploded. I've seen my brother angry before, but he was even angrier now than he usually would be.

"You've seen her with a bow, Dom," I told him, "She can handle herself."

"This isn't like surviving in the wild," Dominic seethed, "There are literal _monsters _out there that dedicate their lives to killing us demigods. What if-"

Avalon shook her head and started running. Dominic glared at me before running after Avalon, shouting to her to stop running. I wasn't comfortable with Dominic running into a forest full of hellhounds, but I thought that Avalon would take good care of him. Someone bumped into me and I followed them towards the cabins. But I didn't stop walking there. I had seen something when Avalon had been taking to Chiron. Some sort of letter. I wanted to see what it said.

As predicted, no one was in or near the Big House. I managed to slip into the house unnoticed and began looking for a place where Chiron's wheelchair would be. After about ten or so minutes, I found a room with a record player and a boombox on a table with another table on the opposite side of the room. His wheelchair was in the corner of the room. I crept over to the magic wheelchair, poking around in the pockets for the envelope I had glimpsed from the small opening the door provided. I had only seen a small glimpse of it, but I knew what I was looking for. I moved over to the desk and began riffling through the contents. Random papers, pictures of relatives wearing Party Ponies shirts with a whole bunch of different chapters on it (I thought those guys looked a bit funny, as well as if they'd plan a good party), pens, broken arrows, nothing that remotely looked like an envelope. I hoped I wasn't making things look as if I had gone through them. I quickly and quietly went over to where the boombox was and opened the CD insert button. Inside was an envelope gilded with gold. I took it out.

"Going through Chiron's things, now are you?"

I turned towards the voice, seeing Mr. D standing in the doorway. "Oh, er, Mr. D-"

"Look here, Darian-"

"Derick," I corrected. If he was going to scold me, he might as well scold me while using my actual name.

"Sure, sure," he said, "Darian, I don't exactly care who you steal from, but if Chiron finds out you are stealing or poking around his things, he'll either give you the talk of your lifetime or give you kitchen duty. So, go ahead and read the letter. Just remember the letter is from a god and not meant for you, so you might not understand it."

A bit unsure of why he was letting me go scott free, I took the note out of the envelope and read it.

_They're for her and the bow. She's immortal._

I didn't understand the note. I had a feeling that _'her'_ was Avalon, but I didn't see how she could be immortal. I also had the feeling that _'the bow'_ was Avalon's bow.

"What does-" I began.

"I told you, you wouldn't understand," Mr. D said, "Apollo wants that kept secret, for as long as possible or whatever, so if you don't want a god as your enemy, particularly Apollo, who tends to be _quite_ vengeful, I would keep the message to yourself. Who knows if any of your friends know what those words mean?"

I swallowed dryly. I still didn't get the whole gods still being around thing, but I understood that making any of them my enemy would be a drastic mistake. Tearing my eyes away from Mr. D, I put the letter back into the envelope and put it back into the CD insert.

"You aren't going to tell Chiron?" I asked.

"You aren't going to tell Avalon?" he replied.

I shook my head. "No, Sir."

"Then I won't tell Chiron."

"Thank you."

"Sure, whatever, Darian. Just don't let me catch you sniffing around here again."

I nodded and made no hesitation to get out of the room. I quietly stepped outside and managed to get back to my cabin before anyone actually began coming back. I stayed on the porch, either way, and thought about what I had seen on that note.


	5. Suspicions and Prisoners: Dominic Yuley

Chapter Five: Dominic Yuley

I didn't know what else to do when it came down to Avalon. Yes, she had good aim with a bow, but what if she got hit from behind? What if she froze and couldn't kill one of those hellhounds? I was glad I had thought to keep the bronze sword on my belt.

"Avalon!" I shouted, "You can't do this, not alone, at the very least."

She slowed down for me to catch up with her. Her face made it clear she didn't want me coming along, but that she knew I'd come either way. "Fine," Avalon said grudgingly, "Do you even know how to use a blade?"

I pulled out my sword. "It's never to late to learn," I told her.

Avalon shook her head, but continued to run through the forest. "There's supposed to be a creek running through this forest. There should also be-"

There was a snap nearby and we both stopped running. Avalon put her fingers to her bowstring and looked around. I gripped my sword tighter. There was another snap. Avalon lifted her bow, pointing it toward where the sound had come from. Percy came out from behind the tree at that point, his hands up.

"It's me," he whispered, "You two _really_ shouldn't be in this forest."

I lowered my sword, but Avalon kept her bow drawn.

"Avalon, it's alright," I said, "It's only Percy."

She kept her bow drawn.

"Av-" Then I saw what she was really looking at.

Behind Percy, about five yards away from him, was a grizzly bear-sized, black mastiff with glowing red eyes. Percy still hadn't gotten the message Avalon was trying to give him. She released her arrow.

Percy's eyes widened, but he didn't have anytime to duck out of the way as Avalon's arrow went flying by his ear and hit the hellhound in the eye. A howl rent the air as the hellhound reared on its hind legs. Percy turned around and pulled a pen out of his pocket, which he uncapped and was suddenly holding a bronze blade in his hands. By that time, several arrows had sprouted from the hellhound's chest. As the monster fell back onto all its legs, Avalon shot it in its other eye. The hellhound stumbled back. Avalon readied another arrow and this time shot it between the eyes. The monster vanished in a plume of ashes. Avalon put down her bow.

"Thanks for not killing me," Percy said.

"And saving your life," Avalon added.

"That, too," Percy agreed, "But you two really shouldn't be out here, neither of you have trained for this at all."

"That's what I was trying to say," I said.

"Look," Avalon seethed, "those _things _attacked me. I'm not going to just let them go running around the forest attacking more of the campers!"

"Avalon, I know how you feel, but we have it under control," Percy said, "We have plenty of campers who have been here for even longer than I have and have even more skill than I do."

"I can help-" she started again.

"Avalon," I pleaded, "just look at the facts! They already have groups set up and are going to kill the hellhounds. And you might be good with a bow and arrow, but what if one jumps you? You haven't trained with close combat before! You'll get hurt and that'll just set everything else back, as well as worry everyone."

She looked away from Percy and I. She seemed to be rethinking things.

"Fine," Avalon said after a moment, "This forest creeps me out anyways."

I found Derick still standing at the porch of the Hermes cabin, seeming deep in thought about something. I was surprised just to see him there. Derick barely ever followed directions, much less stayed in one place while something somewhat interesting happened.

"What have you done?" I asked immediately.

"What?" he replied.

"You never stay in one place for long," I said, "What did you do while I was in the forest?"

"Nothing," Derick insisted, "I've been here the whole time you were in that forest."

I didn't know if he was being entirely truthful, but I let the matter drop. I knew Derick enough to know he was probably twisting his words around. I looked back at Avalon, who was still a bit angry at Percy and I, but looked a bit more worried about something else at the moment to really care about being angry. She sat down on the porch in front of her cabin, eventually catching my eye. I waved, but she only looked away.

"I think she's keeping something from us," Derick said, following my gaze, "I don't know what, but I just have this feeling..."

"She's just a bit overwhelmed," I replied, "I mean, she had to kill a rottweiler and watched as I was thrown into a brick wall by the monster. You know how she is with dogs, she loves them, and she had a rottweiler. That in itself must've been pretty hard for her to do. And then she saw her dad and nearly got killed by him... Judging by her reactions after their talk, I'd say things went a bit bad."

"A bit?" Derick snorted, "She's been in a bitter mood ever since then!"

"But why would you think she'd be hiding something?" I asked, "It doesn't seem as if-"

"How'd you get her out of those woods?" Derick countered, "If there's something I know about Avalon, it's that when someone does something to tick her off, she does something pretty rash back. It'd have to take something pretty big to get it through to her that there's an actual good reason for her not to act rash."

I shook my head. Derick had a way with words, I'll give him that. The thing about growing up with him, however, was that I began to realize when he was either lying, twisting his words, or plain old just trying to mess with me. "Derick, I know, Avalon can be rash, but she does see sense when it's right in her face."

"I don't know," he said, "Something feels off."

I didn't reply, but watched as a few more campers came and went. I could see why Avalon wanted to go into that forest and help, I didn't even want to stay put and do nothing. One of the campers ran up the steps of the cabin. I saw blood on his shirt.

"Do you know if there are any medical supplies in your cabin?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," I told him, "What happened?"

"Someone shot a kid in the leg with an arrow," he said, running off towards the Apollo cabin. I walked down the steps of the porch as Avalon stood up. The two of them exchanged a few words and she dashed inside. She came out a minute later with pliers, gauze, and other various medical things. When they ran by, she called over her shoulder to me, "Follow me!"

We ran to the forest's edge, where two people were hobbling along. The camper who had gotten Avalon and I ran ahead and got the two of them to stop. The kid with the arrow in his leg was put down on the ground. I stopped a few feet away as I looked at the short kid with black hair and blue eyes. Avalon barely stuttered in her steps.

"It was an accident!" the camper said, "I didn't see him, I was shooting at a hellhound and he just-"

"Johnny?" I gasped.

He looked up and managed a week smile. "Long time, no see?" Johnny Rosener said.

"You two know each other?" the other camper asked.

"We went to the same school," I said absently, looking at the arrow cutting through his leg.

"I think I can get the arrow out," Avalon said, "but it's gonna hurt."

"I think a doctor should do this," Johnny said.

Avalon smiled apologetically. "Sorry, Johnny, but the only people in camp that can be considered doctors are a few of the campers, me included."

"There has to be some sort of camp advisor that can help," Johnny said.

"Johnny, trust me," I said, "Avalon can patch up a wound just as well as any doctor, but to do that, she'll have to get that arrow out of your leg. You can get through this, I know you can."

Avalon looked at the two campers. "You guys can go back, I have everything under control," she told them.

They ran back into the woods.

"Johnny, I'm going to have to snap the arrow and then pull it out the other way, alright?" Avalon told him, "It's going to hurt a bit, so just be prepared."

He nodded and she grabbed the back of the arrow and towards the part where it was in his leg.

"On three," she said, "One. Two. Three-"

She snapped the arrow. Johnny gasped. Avalon cleaned up the splinters and grasped the other side of the arrow.

"Dominic, I need you to make sure he stays still, alright?" she said.

I couldn't believe she was so calm. I was still staring at Johnny's leg in disbelief.

"Dominic," Avalon said again, bringing me to my senses, "You need to make sure he stays still while I pull out the arrow."

I placed my hands on Johnny's shoulder and leg.

"On the count of three, again," Avalon said, "One-"

She pulled out the arrow. Johnny screamed for a second or two. I managed to keep him from moving all too much. Avalon began wrapping the now bleeding like crazy wound with the gauze she had with her.

"Sorry, Johnny," she said, "Anticipation is always the worst part."

"Should we get him back inside?" I asked.

Avalon nodded. "I can't do much more out here."

We got Johnny standing again, though he wasn't leaning on his bad leg at all, and began bringing him to the Big House.

"How are – you two here?" Johnny asked, "Last I knew – both of you were – at your houses."

"I sort of got a prank call that wasn't a prank call," Avalon told him, "Percy, Annabeth, and Grover, a few of the campers around here, had called me saying my friends were in danger, the next thing I know, I had gotten Dominic and Derick in my house with the three of them knocking on my door. There was a... monster and we were forced to kill it. Then we got here and we've been given a bit of information on what was going on."

"A monster, you say?" Johnny asked, "Like the ones in the woods?"

"The ones in the woods are a lot smaller than the one that attacked us at Avalon's house," I said.

We got to the Big House. A few of Avalon's siblings came out and helped us get Johnny up the steps and through the door.

"What happened?" I recognized the counselor of Apollo's cabin, Will Solace.

"Someone shot him in the leg with an arrow," Avalon told him, "I got the arrow out, obviously, but there's still a hole."

We walked into the infirmary room.

Several people already were lying in beds. Two of them looked a bit like Avalon, so I guessed they were children of Apollo. Another was mumbling about something worse in the forest than the hellhounds.

"Just give him a bit of Nectar and Ambrosia," someone told Will, "His leg will heal then. And we have a few more pressing matters to deal with, so you'll be on your own."

Will went and began going through a drawer of medical supplies that looked like something out of a fantasy book – oh, wait, this world I live in _is_ a fantasy world.

"I don't know if he's a demigod, Will," Avalon called to him.

"Mortals can't get through the boundaries," Will replied, "Nothing can, not even the weather, unless Peleus failed to guard Thalia's Pine Tree and someone got the Golden Fleece, which I highly doubt."

Avalon still looked a bit doubtful. Johnny looked ready to pass out as Will came over with a small cube of something.

"Hey, can you eat this?" Will asked, "You'll feel better if you do."

With the last of his energy, Johnny grabbed the cube and bit into it. Color flooded back into his face as he chewed. I didn't know if Johnny's leg was getting better, but it seemed as if the blood had stopped coming. Johnny pushed himself into a sitting position as he was given another cube. He looked better the longer after he ate the cubes. Avalon looked relieved.

"What is that stuff?" I asked.

"It's Ambrosia," Will told me, "It can heal demigods if we don't eat too much of it, and if we do... let's just say it isn't pretty."

Will gently took off the gauze around Johnny's leg. Johnny winced once in while, but I was surprised to see the wound only a bit bigger than a pencil's eraser.

"Has anyone checked on Rachel yet?" one of the Apollo kids asked.

"Who-" I began, only to be pulled out of the Big House by Avalon, who began running over to a cave a little ways away. "Who's Rachel?"

"Rachel is the camp's oracle," Avalon told me, "She gives out prophecies when campers ask for quests."

"Prophecies?" I repeated, "Like, actual prophecies about the future?"

"Yes," she said.

I was only just getting my mind wrapped around the idea of having a prophecy told to me when we made it into the cave.

"Whoa," I said, checking to make sure we had just ran into a cave, because it did not look like the inside of a cave. A bed was fixed in the corner, where a girl with red hair was sleeping soundly. A desk was nearby, with a stack of art utensils in a cup. There were pictures everywhere, some that seemed to have been made a long while ago while others looked pretty new. I stepped forward with Avalon, managing to kick a crumpled up piece of paper. I knelt down and unfolded it.

The picture was of a girl tackling a monster with multiple heads off of a cliff. The girl had been circled in red pen with a line coming out of it and the word _"Important" _printed at the end of the line. The word had been underlined several times.

"Rachel?" Avalon whispered, "Rachel are you awake?"

The girl on the bed mumbled something that sounded like, "Go away. I'm sleeping."

Avalon shook her gently. "Rachel, there are hellhounds attacking camp."

At that, Rachel sat bolt upright, her eyes wide. When she saw Avalon, she nearly shrieked, but put her hands over her mouth before the sound could go anywhere. Slowly she put her hands down.

"You..." Rachel whispered, "How...?"

"Do I know you or something?" Avalon asked.

Rachel shook her head, getting out of bed. "No, you don't know me, but I've heard about you," she said, "And your little predicament."

"What predicament?" Avalon said.

"Oh, do the words nose bleed mean anything to you?"

I didn't get what she was saying, but apparently Avalon did. She paled until she was white as sheets.

"Of course," Rachel said, "there is a way to get out of it, but it's extremely dangerous, very, very dangerous."

"We just came to make sure you're alright," Avalon said shakily.

"Well, I am alright," she said, starting to talk really fast, "But what about the hellhounds? Is everything being taken care of? And is anyone hurt? I hope not, I mean, we don't have an infinite amount of Apollo's kids here, now do we?"

"A few people got hurt, but I think everything's being taken care of," I said.

"I can't believe I've slept through all of this!" Rachel said incredulously, "Hellhounds in camp and I'm still sleeping! Why don't we go back down there? There's something I need to talk about with Chiron."

"Sure," I said.

We walked out of the cave and towards the Big House. Chiron and a bunch of the campers were just getting out of the forest. From here, I could barely make out someone who looked like Annabeth. None of them were limping, so I had a feeling they either managed to ambush one or two hellhounds, or something happened that made them turn back, maybe even the both. They seemed a bit glum in the way they walked.

"What do you think happened?" I asked Avalon and Rachel.

"No idea," both of them replied.

"Chiron!" Rachel shouted, "We need to hold a war counsel!"

When Chiron looked up, I could tell that something did in fact happen. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"They... they got Percy," Annabeth said.


	6. Prophecies: Dominic Yuley

Chapter Six: Dominic Yuley

Rachel had insisted on bringing Derick, Avalon and I to the meeting. I didn't know why she wanted us there, but no one questioned her. For a while no one talked. Chiron's horse tail was swishing back and forth nervously. Avalon was twirling her ring around her finger.

"We need to go after them," Annabeth said finally.

"We need a quest," Connor agreed.

Most people looked towards Chiron and Rachel.

"Yes, I believe we do," Chiron said, "Who would-"

"I'll take the quest," Avalon said, still twisting her ring.

"Avalon, you've barely even trained," Chiron said, "I think that if anyone should have the quest, they should be more properly trained."

Avalon looked up from her ring. "You haven't told them yet, have you?" she asked.

Chiron and Annabeth glanced between each other. They obviously knew what she was talking about.

"The titans are already trying to get back out of Tartarus," Avalon continued, "I know they're trying to use me to do it also."

This made everyone uncomfortable. The word "Tartarus" alone made the hair on my arms raise. I vaguely remembered the gods being enemies of the titans, but I couldn't think of why, I was so tired from the days events.

"We _just _put them back there," Clarrise said, "They should be too weak to do a single thing."

"Unless they had a backup plan," Avalon said, "Or got help from other minor gods who weren't treated fairly."

"Kronos was too sure of himself to have even thought of a backup plan," Polux, Dionysus's son, said.

"It's still possible," Annabeth said, "He is quite smart."

"But what makes you think that the titans are making another move to get out of Tartarus?" Clarrise asked.

"When I fell asleep in my cabin," Avalon said, "I had a dream where I was standing at the pit of Tartarus. Two titans decided to talk to me. They were brothers, and they said they could use me. What else could a Titan want a demigod for?" She looked at Chiron meaningfully.

"If you know they're trying to get out of Tartarus using you," Clarrise said, "why are you offering to go?"

Avalon's face was blank, unreadable, as if she hadn't heard Clarrise. Everyone waited for her to respond, but she didn't. All Avalon did was stare into space. Derick reached over and waved a hand in front of her face. Still, she didn't do anything.

"Avalon?" I said, putting my hand on her shoulder.

She suddenly jerked her head up to look at me, blinking rapidly.

"Yeah?" Avalon asked as if nothing happened.

"You weren't responding," I said.

She looked away, her expression troubled. "I... I don't know exactly what's going on."

"You say that as if you have a theory on why you weren't responding," Annabeth said.

Avalon shifted uncomfortably. As if bracing herself for a whirlwind of shouts, she closed her eyes and quickly said, "I believe a Titan can hear what I say, but only when I say it."

There was absolute silence. Annabeth was the first to recover. "What?"

"In that alleyway," Avalon continued timidly, peeking at the surrounding demigods, "you remember what I was like..." She shook her head, ridding it of whatever thought had come to mind. "Someone was trying to get me to tell Annabeth something I really didn't want to tell when I randomly blurted out 'Titan'. Don't ask me why, I barely had control over my own tongue. But I have a feeling that whoever it was that was trying to get me to tell Annabeth was a Titan, and whoever that Titan may be has a brother who is just as evil, if not worse."

Jake Mason, the counselor for the Hephaestus cabin, said, "So, when you weren't responding to us..."

A shiver ran up my spine as I realized what he was thinking. Avalon only nodded. When she wasn't responsive, she hadn't been listening to us, she had been listening to the Titan. I vaguely wondered what the Titan had been saying.

"We're getting a bit off topic, aren't we?" Avalon said quietly, not meeting any of the staring gazes, "Who's going to take on the quest? I'll do it, if no one else wants to."

"I'll do it," Annabeth said, "But..."

"What is it?" Chiron asked.

"Avalon does seem to know more about these titans who are behind Percy's capture," she said, "I think she should take the quest."

"What if she says something and the Titan finds out what she's planning on doing?" Clarrise said, "She's a liability."

"If I have to, I'll write on paper," Avalon said.

"Aren't you dyslexic like the rest of us?" Clarrise growled.

She shook her head. "It's not all that bad with me. And I think I can write in Greek if I have to."

"Clarrise does have a point, though," Jake said, "There's still the possibility."

"Everyone has their faults," Derick muttered.

Everyone looked at him.

"What?" he said, "It's true. Dominic tends to coddle everyone he knows-"

"Oh, I coddle people, now do I?" I snapped, but Chiron interrupted the rest of what I was going to say.

"Yes, everyone has faults," he said, "but will anyone else go on this quest to bring back Percy?"

No one said anything. I didn't know what to say. If Avalon was going, I wanted to go also. But I knew that if I went, Derick would reck havoc on the camp. I had a feeling the Stolls were thinking that if one of them left, the other would go, and they just didn't want that. Drew, a daughter of Aphrodite, was cleaning her nails. She probably wasn't paying any attention to the meeting. Clarrise looked like she was still holding a grudge against Percy and wasn't even thinking of going to help him.

"Look," Will said, "I'd go, but the camp needs me. I'm going to say the same for Jake, Hephaestus cabin does make almost all of our weapons. If the titans are already starting back up, we'll have to start up on camp defenses again. And that means that we can't have all of our most important people leaving on this quest."

A few people nodded their heads like they had the same thought. Chiron clopped uneasily, but still had to give the quest to Avalon.

"Avalon, the quest is yours," he said, "Now, we need the prophecy."

Everyone looked at Rachel. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Within seconds, her voice was raspy as she began saying the prophecy.

"_Six shall go east, to find what was stollen_

_The two mankind will say he has spoken._

_To fall one hundred feet,_

_Another watches in defeat._

_Gold hits the floor, a distraction made,_

_They get to safety in the shade."_

Rachel slumped back in her chair, looking exhausted. Avalon was as white as sheets, her hands clenched into fists on her legs. Annabeth and Chiron looked troubled.

"Six," Annabeth said, "This isn't going to end well."

"'To fall one hundred feet,'" Travis said, "Doesn't look like everyone comes back."

"There's safety in the shade, apparently," Jake added, "Looks like that's good news."

"Who're these 'two mankind'?" Will asked.

There were several other questions, but right then, Avalon stood up and left. I followed her.


	7. Flight 4-13: Avalon Gaery

Chapter Seven: Avalon Gaery

I couldn't stand staying in there anymore. I had a feeling I knew who was going to fall and what the gold that hit the floor was. It made me feel sick just thinking about it.

"Avalon!" Dominic called.

I only stopped when I made it to the porch.

"Avalon, what's wrong?" Dominic asked.

I took a shaky deep breath, my hands holding so tightly onto the railing they were white. "It's nothing," I managed.

"You sound horrible," he argued, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine," I insisted.

"Okay." He paused for a moment. "You don't have to do this, you know. You can give the quest to someone else."

"I can do it," I told him, "It's just a few of the lines bug me."

"They bug a lot of people," he stated. I got what he was trying to say. The prophecy bugged everyone – it only bugged me even worse.

The door to the Big House opened again. Annabeth came out.

"I want to go with you," she said immediately.

I nodded, expecting this to be the case. "Alright."

She frowned. "You look horrible," Annabeth said, "No offense."

"I'm fine," I told her.

"Avalon, really, if something is wrong, we should know," Dominic said.

Warily, I took a pen and paper out of my pocket and wrote down, "I think I know what a line in the prophecy means."

Annabeth and Dominic tried reading it, finally getting what I said after two or three minutes.

"Which lines?" Annabeth asked, "And what do they mean?"

I took the paper back and wrote, "I shouldn't say. He'll find out."

"You don't have to say it," Dominic told me.

Shaking my head, I wrote down, "And if the paper doesn't stay with you?"

"We could burn the paper afterwards," Annabeth said.

"Hecate's cabin?" I wrote.

"Are you paranoid, or something?" she asked, "No one in Camp Half-Blood would do anything to harm this place."

"It happened before. And I'm thorough, not paranoid," I told her, using my voice.

She just shook her head. "Anyways, I think Chiron and the others are a bit worried about you. Will saw how you were a bit pale before leaving the room."

I sighed. "The first time you got a quest, you didn't take it all too well either," I remembered, "Neither did Percy."

Annabeth looked at me calculatingly, as if she was wondering how much I really knew about her and Percy and Grover and everything that had happened for the last four years. I didn't meet her eyes.

"What-" she began.

There was a crash from inside the Big House. We dashed inside. It seemed as if Rachel _had _been drawing something on a piece of paper, until she threw it and the pen aside and began scratching the table. Almost as if practiced, Jake put another pen in her hand and a piece of paper in front of her. She began drawing quickly, yet in precise detail. Looking over her shoulder, I saw her drawing two guys sitting in thrones.

"What is she doing?" Dominic asked.

"Rachel does this sometimes," Will said, "She sometimes draws things of the future or past, things of importance usually."

With a chill, I got a feeling I knew who Rachel was drawing. Titans. She was drawing two titans. Then, near the titans' feet, Rachel began drawing a group of people. One was in chains, with a tall man holding his arm. The guy was barely standing, and then Rachel drew something on the ground near him that was dripping down his arm. I had an aching feeling it was blood.

_Tell._

I closed my eyes. I had heard the voice in my head during the middle of the conference, and as you heard, it hadn't ended all that well.

I opened my eyes again, seeing Rachel drawing in stalactites and and putting little details into where small rocks were scattered.

"Is that Percy?" Annabeth gasped.

"That can't be him," Will said, "You know what he did before the war. There's no way he could be in that bad a shape."

Annabeth didn't look convinced

"Who's that on the throne?" Connor asked.

"I don't know," Drew said, glancing uninterestedly at the guy, "but he's ugly."

I had another one of those moments where my mind went completely blank. "Iapetus." I blinked, looking away from the picture Rachel was drawing. Everyone was looking at me. Rachel, even in her state of prophetic seeing, stuttered when I said the name.

"What did you say?" Annabeth said.

"Iapetus," I said slowly, "Titan of mortality, right?"

Annabeth nodded, a look of realization passing over her face. I swallowed dryly.

"What is it?" Dominic asked.

"Well," I said quickly, "let's just say that we have to, eventually, face the Titan of mortality. Iapetus is also known as the Piercer, because that's how he liked to kill his enemies. If attacked by him, not only would the battle be extremely hard, it would be extremely painful. He isn't much different than his brother, Kronos."

"How do you know that?" Jake said, "I didn't even know about that."

I shrugged, sitting down. "I liked mythology when I was in school," I told him, though I, myself, didn't believe in that, "I studied it a lot."

Rachel finally put down her pencil. She looked at her picture before asking, "What have I missed?"

"Avalon, you really have to practice harder," Travis told me in the sword fighting arena.

"I am trying," I insisted, "I'm just better with a bow and arrow."

"Maybe you need a different type of sword," Connor mused, "Balanced, maybe."

"We're a bit short on balanced swords, you know," Travis said.

"You said you brought a knife with you?" Conner asked.

I nodded my head. "It's in my cabin."

"How about you go get that?" he said.

"Okay," I told him, running out of the arena.

Chiron had said that, until the other five members were found, I couldn't go on the quest. Annabeth was getting antsy and was asking a whole bunch of people if they would go on the quest to save Percy, but no one seemed willing enough to walk into a Titan's lair, whether they really are in Tartarus or not. That had begun three days ago. Everyday, I was trained more vigorously than other campers. During sword practice, I'd be practicing with some of the best, who would always knock the sword out of my hand before I could even step back. At archery, the Hephaestus cabin had managed to make a sort of training ground in a patch of open space with a bunch of metal cutouts of monsters and traps that would send arrows towards me or shoot fireballs or whatever. Usually, I made it out just in time. It had been a Saturday when Derick, Dominic, Johnny, and I had gotten to Camp Half-Blood, so capture the flag hadn't played out or anything. It was now Thursday and the Hermes cabin was dueling in the arena at the same time my cabin was. Outside, it had started snowing lightly, the snow melting before it hit the ground while a blizzard was raging outside the camp borders.

The Apollo cabin was empty when I got to it. I went to my backpack and got my knife out from it. Really, it wasn't much, just a blade about half the size of a regular sword. But it fit nicely in my hand and it's sheath could attach to my quiver. I didn't typically use it all too much, but I usually kept the quiver with me anyways. When I got back to the arena, Connor was ready to try me out with my new choice of weapon.

Surprisingly, I managed to fend him off for a while. Even though I had the smaller blade and he was obviously stronger than me, I could parry his blows. I realized I had a better defense than offense when it came to close combat. Experimentally, I tried lunging at him. He immediately knocked my knife out of my hand and put his sword to my throat.

"That was better," Connor told me, "but you left yourself open when attacking. Try balancing your defense with a bit of offense. Let's try again."

We continued dueling until it was time to go to dinner. After giving part of my dinner to a god of my choice (mainly it's just Apollo, for me), I sat down and poked at my food. I felt uneasy about something, but I couldn't quite tell what exactly it was. I had a feeling it was more than just the predicament with Percy and Annabeth's fidgety mood.

"You're still a bit worked up about the quest, aren't you?" Will asked.

"I guess so," I told him, "I mean, it's been a week and we still haven't actually done anything."

"You can't go against fate, you know," he replied, "If the prophecy said you need five people to come with you, then you need five people to come with you."

"What if fate is me finding those people out there?" I asked, "What if the other people are supposed to be out there already? I mean, if we take a plane east, people are bound to be near us. We could start having a conversation with someone and find out they're a demigod, right? I just really want to get everyone back safe and sound as soon as possible."

One of my half-sisters, Harper Cordo, looked at me a bit nervously. "You didn't eat lunch earlier," she said, "It isn't all that healthy not to eat. And you need your strength if you're going to lead this quest."

I sighed. Leave it to my new family to know even more about medicine than I did. "I'm not hungry," I said.

"You should try a bit of food," she insisted, "Just a tiny bit."

Even though I wasn't all too hungry, I eventually took a bite of the barbecue on my plate.

"We're playing against the Ares cabin tomorrow," another one of my brothers, Fred Nocks, said in an attempt to lighten the mood, "It seems like most of the cabins besides Athena and Hephaestus are going against us."

"It's a good thing we have a lot of kids on our side," I said, thankful for the change in subject, "We could have all the power in the world and still be beaten out of lack of numbers."

"You know," Will said, "you sometimes sound just like those in the Athena cabin."

I shook my head. "Based on what I've heard," I replied, "they're a lot better in warfare than I would ever be."

"You speak with logic all the time, though," Fred said.

"Intelligence and logic are completely different things," I told him, "One is about howyou _think_, the other is about how muchyou _know_."

Something hit the back of my head. I sighed, having a feeling I knew who it was who it was who wanted me. I twisted in my seat.

"What is it, Derick?" I asked.

"Dominic wants you," he told me.

Dominic passed a hand over his face as if he really didn't want to talk to me right now. "First off," he said, "I never said that. Secondly, I wanted to talk to you after dinner."

"Alright," I said, "Anything else?"

"Nothing I really want to say here." He glanced over my shoulder at my brothers and sisters.

I nodded and turned back to the table.

"Is he your boyfriend, or something?" Harper asked.

I nearly choked on my never ending coke-filled goblet. "You think he's my boyfriend?" I said under my breath.

She blushed. "It's just, er, well, you and he are usually around each other during the day," Harper said quickly, "I guess I just jumped to conclusions."

Fred and Will were quietly laughing to themselves. I realized my face was burning and looked at my plate.

"Exactly how long have you known each other?" Fred asked, still laughing.

"About three months," I said, "We ended up going to the same school. Johnny went there also, until he was forced to leave."

"Did a monster attack or something?" Will wondered.

I shook my head. "He found out he had cancer."

They stopped eating.

"He has cancer?" Harper whispered.

"_Had_ cancer," I corrected, "He doesn't have it anymore. Johnny just got out of the hospital last week."

"Last week? He doesn't look like a recent cancer patient."

"Apollo visited him."

"_What_?"

I shrugged. "I had one picture of Apollo with my mom and he saw it once or twice. He said that a guy who looked just like our father came and visited him in the hospital." I twirled my fork nervously. "Don't tell anyone I told you this, I'm not sure if he wants everyone to know."

They nodded their heads.

"Hey, Avalon," Dominic said, "About the quest..."

"You don't have to come," I told him, "I won't ask that of you."

"I know you wouldn't," he said, "But, I mean, I would go, if Derick wouldn't be left behind. He is part of my family, and you know how he can be."

"Whoa, wait." Derick squeezed in between Dominic and I. "You aren't going on the quest, just because you think I'd be left behind? That's what _I've_ been thinking this whole time."

I raised an eyebrow. "You want to go on the quest?"

"I don't typically enjoy being holed up in a camp where I don't know many of the people and the director is a god." A shiver ran down his spine.

"Are you antsy about him or something?" I asked.

"What? No. Why would you think that?" Derick said quickly. It could've been just a flash of moonlight, but I swear he paled a bit.

"Never mind," I said.

"But you want to go on the quest?" Dominic asked him, "If we both go, that'd be four in total. We'd only need two others."

"If you three are going on this quest," Johnny said, falling into place next to me with only a slight limp, "I'm going, too."

"Then we'd only need one more person," Dominic said.

"I don't know..." I told them, "If one of you get hurt..."

"Avalon, I've gone through cancer and made it out alive-" Johnny began.

"Because a god showed up at your hospital bed and healed you," I interrupted, "If any of you got hurt, I'd never forgive myself."

"What if you need someone for sneaking around?" Derick asked.

"Or acting?" Dominic added.

"And you know things will fall to pieces if I'm not there to break up the fights," Johnny said.

I wasn't all too sure. Part of me wanted to say yes, but another part of me was holding me back from saying it. "I'll talk about it with Annabeth," I found myself saying, "If anyone would know what to do for picking people for a quest, she'd know."

They looked a bit disappointed about me not giving them a definite yes. I continued on my way to the Apollo cabin.

During some of my free time, I began searching for Annabeth. She wasn't anywhere in the arena, nor was she near the archery range. The dining pavilion was completely deserted. I decided to check in on her cabin. I knocked on the door. No one answered, but I thought I heard a bit of shuffling inside. Just that small sound sparked my curiosity. I peeked inside.

Most of the beds were pushed against the wall, giving the rest of the cabin enough room to fit a workshop and a library. No one was in here, besides one person. Annabeth.

Her eyes were a bit puffy and she looked like she had just been crying. I nearly stepped back out the door, I've never been all that good when it came to people crying. But I walked over and sat next to her anyways.

"Is everything alright?" I asked hesitantly.

I was ready for her to blow up and shout, _No, everything isn't alright! _But she didn't shout. "We need to get going," she told me, "We shouldn't've even stayed here this long to find people for the quest."

"I've found three others who want to come," I told her.

She seemed to brighten at that. "Really?"

I nodded my head. "I'm not sure if I want them to come or not, though. That's why I came here in the first place."

"Oh," Annabeth said, "Well, who is it?"

"Dominic, Derick, and Johnny," I told her.

She frowned. "The ones who came the same time as you?"

I nodded. "They asked me yesterday if they could come, but I wasn't all too sure."

"Why would they want to come?"

"Well, it sort of was like a chain reaction. Dominic said he wanted to come, probably to make sure everyone got back safely, but he wanted to make sure Derick didn't get in any trouble here at camp. Derick overheard this and said that's what he's been thinking. Johnny had been listening in on the conversation and said that if the two of them were going that he'd be going also. Then they proceeded to tell me that Derick could sneak around as if part of the shadows himself, Dominic could act and lie to practically anyone, and Johnny would be able to keep the peace between us all."

Annabeth considered this. "They haven't exactly trained all that much."

"I haven't either."

"Yes, well... You've known them for a while, right?"

"If you call three months a while, then yeah, I suppose so. They're pretty nice, unless it's Derick and he gets angry, but Johnny used to always break up the fights before they even started. But if any of them get hurt... I mean, if it's Dominic, not only would I never forgive myself, but Derick would probably try to run me through with his sword. If it was Johnny, none of them would talk to me ever again. Dominic would act the same way as Derick if pushed too hard."

I played around with the ring on my finger. I was only just beginning to realize I wanted them on this quest. I wouldn't act as well as I could if everyone on the quest was a stranger to me. But there were also the reasons I didn't want them to come, and those tended to be more in numbers than the reasons to have them on the quest. Annabeth would make a better decision than me, I was sure of that. She knew more about quests.

"They can come," she said finally.

"Really?" I had a feeling my voice even sounded happier.

"I have a feeling we'll need them," she said, "And I have an idea of who will be the last person on the quest."

"Who?"

"Grover Underwood."

I nodded my head. "He seems like a good person to have on the trip. Will you find him and talk to him while I go and tell the others?"

"Sure."

We nearly ran out of the Athena cabin to get to those we needed. I had a feeling the others were in the arena, so I checked there first. Sure enough, I found Derick and Dominic dueling.

"Hey, guys," I said, "I talked to Annabeth and she said it would be a good idea for you to come on the quest."

"Annabeth did?" Derick said, "That's... surprising."

"If Annabeth said that we could come," Dominic mused, "she must be thinking of a good way to use us on the quest."

"Maybe," I said. Really, I was thinking that she just wanted to get out of camp and get Percy back. I wanted the same thing, but I wasn't so sure my judgment would get as clouded as hers would. "Where's Johnny?"

"I think he went over to the climbing wall a bit ago," Dominic said, sounding a bit worried, "I hope he hasn't slipped."

I could see what he was worried about. Johnny had gone through cancer and gotten an arrow through his leg. None of us wanted him to get anymore hurt than he had been already, but we all knew him enough to know that once he sets his mind on something, he tends to follow through with it. He said he'd live, and he did. He said he'd get better at his swordsmanship, and he's been doing quite fine so far. If he said he'd go on the quest, he'd go on the quest.

"I'm going to check up on him," I told them, "I'll tell him about everything."

"Wait," Derick said, "Did you find anyone else as the sixth?"

I nodded my head. "Grover," I told him at the door of the arena, "Annabeth's talking to him right now."

I walked out, heading straight towards the climbing wall. It looked like Johnny had just started climbing. For a recent cancer patient, he was going pretty fast, the lava a foot or two away from him. A few people were watching him, waiting for their own turn. I guessed that he was doing pretty good for a demigod who had just started out and with a somewhat bad leg, seeing how a few people looked at him approvingly. The walls clashed together, but Johnny kept his footing. I wondered how foolish I must've looked when I had tried climbing that before. He made it to the top and came down.

"That was pretty good," I said.

"I've seen better," he replied, but he still seemed a bit happy about himself.

"You can come on the quest," I told him.

"Awesome," he said.

I frowned. "You know, going on the quest isn't going to be easy."

"And?" he asked.

"Well... it's just that you're so confident, it's a bit – I don't know – unsettling."

He shrugged. "I'm a confident person."

I heard some clopping behind me and turned to see Chiron galloping towards me at a leisurely pace. He seemed to be thinking about something as he stopped next to me.

"Have you gotten a few more people?" he asked.

I nodded. "Johnny, Dominic, and Derick volunteered," I told him, "Annabeth's asking Grover if he wants to come also."

He looked like this was the answer he had feared. "Avalon, remember-"

"I asked Annabeth beforehand," I told him, "She told me that it was a good idea."

"Annabeth said that?" he said.

I nodded. "She said it was a good idea."

Chiron appraised me with sad eyes before trotting away.

"He seems a bit jittery," Johnny noted.

"I think it has to do with the note my father gave him," I said.

"Do you know what the letter said?" he asked.

"No, my dad told me to not look at it." I toyed around with the ring on my finger. "After trying to kill me of course."

"He tried killing you!?"

I sighed. "It was a test. He is a god after all, and they aren't supposed to favor their children anymore than how much they favor other god's children. It doesn't really bother me."

"But he _tried killing you!_"

"Johnny, can you wrap it around your head that it was harmless?" He started speaking again, but I continued in a quieter tone. "I'm his daughter, Johnny, and he's the god of prophecy. Can you think of what that can mean for some of his children?"

His jaw dropped. "You can't..."

I shook my head. "I can't see the future as well as he can, but some of his children _do _have some sort of form of precognition."

"That is so cool."

"Sometimes it is." I looked away from him. "Sometimes it isn't."

"How could that not be cool? I mean, you can see, somewhat, into the future!"

"Keep your voice down!" I hissed.

"Alright, alright," he said, "Why are you so angry?"

I rolled my eyes. "Just remind me to _never_ let you talk to my father," I said. I began walking away. Johnny followed me.

"Why are you so angry?" he asked.

"Just think of the sort of things that could happen in the future," I said, glaring at him for having such nerve.

A look of frightened understanding passed over his face.

"Not everything in this world is sunshine and daisies, Johnny," I told him grimly, "It can be dark and miserable and torturous." I looked away from him. "Most of the time it's like that."

Everyone was excited on Friday. Well, everyone who would be there. Chiron had set it up so that those going on the quest left immediately, which meant the day after everything was finalized. I had decided that it would be a good idea to go to Rome, since that was a center in mythology and it was in the East, like the prophecy said. We were also flying there. The costs had been taken care of by Chiron, but I was still wondering about how he had gotten the mortal money in the first place when Argus, the camp security guy, who has one hundred eyes all over his body, including one on his tongue, rolled up in a van. Chiron held me back from going down.

"Avalon, you must be very careful," he said, "If it really is Iapetus, he might be able to do things you never-"

"If you know about what Iapetus did to me," I interrupted, "just say it to my face, Chiron."

He clopped nervously on his horse's hooves. "Apollo told me in the letter."

"I assumed that."

"Well, remember what your father told you. Keep that ring with you."

"I'll do my best."

I made my way to the van.

"What did Chiron want?" Dominic asked.

"He just wanted to remind me to listen to my father," I said.

"Really?" Derick said.

I nodded my head. "That was all."

The van began moving.

"Does anyone know how to speak Italian?" Annabeth asked.

"I can," I said.

"You can speak Italian?" Derick inquired.

"I've had several step-fathers," I told him bluntly.

He decided to not ask anything more about the subject, but Annabeth was a bit more curious.

"What did your step-fathers do?" she asked.

"One was an engineer," I said, "Another was a business man. There was one that was a teacher. An opera singer. Shall I continue?"

Annabeth's eyebrows lifted. "No, it's fine... Why so many?"

I didn't reply. There were several answers I could've given, but none I wanted to say. I looked out of the van window.

"Monster attacks?" she guessed.

"As one thing, yes."

We were quite for some time. Miles swept passed before anyone said anything.

"So..." Johnny said, "This Iapetus guy..."

"He's the Titan of mortality, pain, and violent death," I said, "He was called the Lord of the West due to him holding up the western sky when he and his brothers – Kronos, Hyperion, Koios, and Krios – plotted to dethrone their father, Ouranos. Before Hades, he ruled the Underworld."

"How'd you know that?" Derick asked.

I blinked and rubbed my eyes wearily. I felt tired, though I had actually gotten a pretty good night's sleep last night, and my mind went completely blank on the subject of what I had just said. "What?"

"You were just explaining about what Iapetus did in mythology," Johnny said, "And in detail."

I shrugged. "It just came to me."

"You've been saying that a lot recently," Grover said.

I shifted nervously. "I don't know why," I admitted, "I've sort of had the problem for a while."

"Wait, is that why you've got such good grades?" Derick said, "And why you know what you're reading?"

"I don't know," I repeated.

"You are a daughter of Apollo," Annabeth said, though she didn't sound all too sure, "It could be some form of prophetic ability passed from him."

I shook my head. "It's not prophetic," I told her, "Me knowing these things, it isn't prophetic."

"How do you know?" Dominic asked.

"My father is the god of prophecy," I said simply, "It makes sense for me to know things about prophecies, but not exactly understandings."

"Then how do you know these things?"

I didn't look them in the eyes. Have people ever talked about you in the same room, as if you weren't there? I guess that's how I felt.

Annabeth began riffling through her things. After a moment, she pulled something halfway out of the bag.

"What book am I holding?" she asked.

Before I could stop myself, I blurted out, _"Structural Support and How It Helps."_

She dropped the book. "Now?"

_"__Greek Parallels."_

"And now?"

It took all my willpower to not answer. "Stop asking these questions," I said with difficulty, "Please."

They all looked at me worriedly. I guess I sounded a bit pleading or something.

"It's just... unnatural," I said, "It doesn't feel right."

_Tell._

My neck twitched. Iapetus was starting to annoy me.

_Tell them everything._

A hand waved in front of me. Johnny looked me in the face, his eyes concerned.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"It's the Titan again, Iapetus," I said.

_No secrets._

I closed my eyes, a shiver running through my body. Annabeth called to Argus to pull over somewhere.

_Or do you wish to see..._

I glimpsed a few horrid things, like atomic bombs going off and the Judges of the Dead sending a soul to immortal torment in the Fields of Punishment. My eyes snapped open at that, the spell of horror fading.

_Remember our talk from before. And I _do _know your weakest point. I know more than you think. I know exactly which way to sway everyone you have ever known._

I felt his presence fade away for the time being, leaving me shaking with Annabeth, Grover, Dominic, Derick, Johnny, and Argus trying to figure out what exactly was wrong. Annabeth shook my shoulder.

Slowly, I took her hand off of me and shakily said, "We need to hurry. _Fast._"

Argus went back to the front seat and began driving again. I felt as if I were about to pass out any moment now, but I tried fighting the feeling. Everyone was still looking at me worriedly. I pushed some hair out of my eyes.

"I'm fine," I said, "Really."

"You don't exactly look fine," Johnny said.

I rubbed my eyes wearily. "It's worse outside of camp. I suppose the borders tend to block out the Titan to some degree."

"If people start asking questions on the flight-" Annabeth said.

"I've got that covered," I told her, "Trust me."

She didn't look completely assured, but let the matter drop.

"What are we going to do once we get to Rome?" Grover asked.

"I think we should go to the Coliseum," Annabeth said.

"Er, I'm not sure this is a time to go sight seeing," Derick said.

She glared at him. "It's a monument that's been standing since before the Great Fire of Rome. We're bound to find someone who can point us in the right direction."

"It's a good thought," I said, "I think we should do it."

We made it to the airport safely enough. In the crowd of mortals, no one even gave us a second glance. Surprisingly, the line to buy tickets to Rome was pretty long, even though it was pretty early in the morning. Eventually, however, I managed to get to the desk. Chiron had even thought of getting us passports, so there wasn't anything major to cause a red flag for the guy behind the counter.

"Say, where are your parents?" he asked, stamping the passports as the transaction pended, "You can't go on the plane without a legal adult with you."

I looked over my shoulder and pointed at a couple waiting in line at a vendor. "They're getting some food. We haven't eaten since last night at six, so they told me to get the tickets and they'd get the food."

"That makes three people, though, not six," he noted.

"I have three brothers," I told him, "Step-brothers, actually."

"Hmm." He handed me the passports and tickets. "Have a good flight."

"Thanks," I told him, and bolted towards the cafe. I gave everyone their things when we met up.

"Did the guy ask any questions?" Grover asked.

"Yes," I said.

"What did you do?" he continued.

"I lied," I told him, "He asked where my parents were and I said they were in line at a nearby vendor. He then asked where the other three people were and I told him I had three step-brothers. Why don't we get going? I have a feeling something bad is going to happen."

We quickly got to the line for the planes. I looked out of the glass windows and nervously watched as a plane took flight.

"I hope nothing happens on the plane," Dominic said.

"That's more than 90,500 pounds of metal and wires flying more than 20,000 feet above the ground," I said, "And only two or three engines make it fly." I shivered. "Yeah, nothing wrong is going to happen."

"How do you know that?" he asked, "Those numbers, I mean?"

"Like I said before, I had a step father who was an engineer."

Within minutes, we were all in the plane. All of us were near each other, so if anything _did _go wrong, we'd be able to help each other. Derick had been handed the ticket for the seat next to me, which was a problem I hadn't anticipated. Derick was just as observant as Dominic, if not even more so, and saw my hands clenched on the arms of the seat so tightly they were white.

"You're still nervous about the quest aren't you?" he said.

I didn't answer, but proceeded to tensely release one of my hands and chew on my nails.

"Or is it something else?"

I glanced at him, which finalized his thoughts.

"You're afraid of heights?" Derick said.

My face turned bright red as he started laughing loudly. "It isn't funny," I hissed.

He nodded his head. "It kind of is."

Annabeth leaned forward in her seat. "I think you and Thalia would get along just fine," she said, "But if you're afraid of heights, why'd you say we should _fly _to Rome?"

"Going against fate is never pretty," I told her, "Sometimes you have to take one for the team, anyways, right?"

A ladies voice came from one of the speakers above us, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard New York Airlines flight number 4-13. Please make sure that all carry-on items are stowed either in an overhead compartment or completely beneath the seat in front of you. If you have problems with the proper stowage of your items, please let a flight attendant know and we will be happy to help you. If you are seated in an emergency exit row, please read the information on the passenger safety card which is located in the seat back pocket in front of you. If you do not meet the criteria for seating in this row, or if you do not wish to assist in an emergency, let a crew member know at this time and we will be happy to reseat you. Prior to departure from the gate all cell-phones must be turned off and stowed. Once again, we welcome you on board."

I closed my eyes, gripping my seat even tighter. "Tell me when it's over," I groaned when I felt the plane take lift off. There was a moment of turbulence, and then the plane leveled out.

"Avalon," Johnny said, "really, planes are supposed to stay up in the air. There isn't anything to worry about."

"I could give you plenty of reasons for not liking heights," I told him, my eye still closed, "Most of them starting with 'Zeus'."

Thunder crackled nearby. I silently cursed myself in Greek.

"Strike that," I said, my voice trembling, "Most of them starting with 'past events'."

The thunder died down. I exhaled.

"Heights and I don't tend to get along," I muttered, "I suppose that one reason of that could be due to my father and... another person not getting along every single time and grudges still lasting thousands of years."

"I thought that was only with Poseidon and Zeus," Annabeth said.

Thunder crackled again.

The ladies voice came on again. "The weather is becoming a bit of a problem, though it isn't anything major. Please make sure you know where your seat belts are in case of an emergency."

"Can we please refrain from saying his name?" I begged, "We are in his domain, you know."

"Yeah, sure," Annabeth said, sounding a bit worried herself.

I took a deep breath. "You know how a things can get lost in time, right?"

"Yeah," she said, "And other times things get erased from history."

I nodded my head. "Well, Apollo had a grudge against Jun- Hera because of her trying to kill his mother. He one day plotted to attack her in revenge for the pain she inflicted on his mother, one thing lead to another, and Zeus got caught in the middle of all of it. Things, well..." I flinched at the thought. "Things never really got forgotten about that, even though it happened a _really _long time ago."

"Why would they pull that out of history, though?" Grover asked.

"Juno and her perfect family-" I began, only to be cut off by another rumble of thunder. I opened my eyes, unconsciously muttering a prayer to my father, and any other gods who were watching, for safe passage, and then said, "Sorry. Shouldn't've insulted the Queen of the Gods like that."

A flight attendant came over to us. "Would you like anything to drink?" she asked.

I shook my head. Derick fought back a snicker and said, "No, we're fine."

She furrowed her brows. "Are you alright, Miss?"

I could barely answer, so Dominic said, "She's a bit afraid of heights, and with the weather, it's getting to her."

The flight attendant looked at me sympathetically. "I'm sorry to hear that. We'll be fine, though, the pilots are professional."

I managed a weak smile and nodded. "Thanks for the encouragement."

She walked off.

"Pilots being professional won't really help if Zeu- if _you know who _wants to strike us down, will it?" Dominic asked.

Grover shook his head. "They won't be able to do anything."

"I don't think Zeus is going to strike us down," Johnny said confidently.

"What makes you think that?" I asked.

"It's just a gut feeling, you know?" he said.

Annabeth looked a bit troubled either way, and I really didn't care. I was still praying to every god I could think of. I made the mistake of glancing at the windows and jumped. Out of the window I could see the ocean below us, some twenty thousand feet away. The clouds were clearing, but I was still worried. Another slip up like that and I was sure Zeus wouldn't mind insulting Poseidon with a couple half-bloods falling into his vast oceans. Derick winced. I hadn't even noticed I had grabbed his arm. He pried my hand off of him.

"Ow," he complained, reaching over to close the blinds with his other hand, "Maybe we shouldn't leave the windows open."

"Sorry," I said, "Didn't mean to."

The flight attendant from earlier came over to us with a bag in her hand. "Sorry for the interruption," she said, "but a man said he wanted to give this to you. You are Darcey, right?"

For a moment I forgot that we had gone under different names, seeing how the police were probably looking for Dominic, Derick, Johnny, and I after that abrupt leave we took from the mortal world. I nodded after only a moment of hesitation, though, and accepted the bag. Inside there was a map of Rome and a box that was thoroughly wrapped in duck tape. I gave the map to Annabeth, who immediately said, "There's an unmarked path to an entrance into the Coliseum. It's been highlighted in red."

"Maybe we should take that path," Johnny said.

"I don't know," Grover replied, "A random person giving us something to help us on our quest doesn't sound all too welcoming."

"What's in the box?" Derick asked, reaching over.

Reflexively, I caught his wrist. "Do not open the box," I told him sternly.

He frowned. "What? Do you know what's in there?"

"As a matter of fact," I said, "I have an idea." I pointed at faint writing on the duck tape. _"'The Gods, Mount Olympus, 600__th__ Floor, Empire State Building, New York, NY, With best wishes, PERCY JACKSON.'"_

"This is from Percy?" Dominic said.

Annabeth shook her head. "No," she told him, "That's exactly what Percy wrote after beheading Medusa and putting her head in a box. He shipped it off to Olympus and his father, Poseidon, gave it back to him."

Derick reached over again. I slapped his hand away.

"What?" he asked, irritated.

"Can you get it through your thick head that this is a warning to _not _open it?" I snapped, "Who knows if Medusa's head itself is here?"

He recoiled instantly. I stood up, ignoring my shaking legs, and took my backpack out from the overhead compartment. I put the box into the backpack before putting it back up there and sitting back down.


	8. Welcome to Italia: Avalon Gaery

Chapter Eight: Avalon Gaery

I was happy to get off the plane as fast as possible. I hadn't been able to sleep for the eight hours of flight, but most of the others did. They were still a bit sleepy as I steered them as far away from the airport as possible and towards the Coliseum. For one thing, I was still pretty shaken up with the whole I-was-more-than-twenty-thousand-feet-in-the-air thing. For another, I had a feeling that something bad was going to happen, and when a child of Apollo gets chills up their spine, you usually want to heed their warnings. Or so I'm told. I never got those sayings about the kids of Apollo. But the ones I was told about _Hermes's_ kids...

I had to swap some of the American dollars I had for some Euros. Everyone was asking about what I was saying, since I was speaking Italian, but I just told them to be quiet and I'd explain later. We then managed to grab a _motoscafi, _a sort of taxi they have in Italy that goes by water, and started going to the Coliseum. I am never taking another _motoscafi _in my life again. Almost half of my money was spent just getting from the airport to somewhere remotely close to the Coliseum.

_"__Dove sono i tuoi genitori?"_ the man asked.

I translated it for everyone else. "He's wondering where our parents are."

"Tell him we're orphans," Derick said, leaning back in his seat.

"Tell him our parents are meeting us at the Coliseum," Annabeth said.

_"__Ci stanno riuniti al Colosseo," _I told the driver.

He eyed me as if he didn't believe me. _"Oh, capisco."_

"What did he say?" Grover asked.

"'Oh, I see'," I told him.

"I don't think he believes us," Annabeth said.

_"__Ti ho visto da qualche parte?" _the driver asked.

I shook my head, translating the sentence silently as, _Have I seen you somewhere?_ _"Ne dubito."_

_"__Sei sicuro? Cose strane sono al telegiornale."_

I narrowed my eyes. He had just said, _Are you sure? Weird things have been on the news._

_"__Che strana cosa?"_

_"__I sequestri di persona. Strane forme nelle ombre." _He shivered. _"Molte persone stanno iniziando a credere nei fantasmi. Anche a me."_

_"__Non sei il solo."_

He looked at me curiously.

_"__Di dove sei?" _the taxi driver asked.

"United States, New York," I said, _"Sono nato in _Oregon_, però."_

I hadn't realized how fast our conversation had been. Everyone was looking at me with confused expressions.

"What about New York and Oregon?" Johnny asked.

"He thought he had seen me before and when I told him I didn't believe so, he wasn't so sure, since he had heard some strange things in the news. He had been hearing about kidnappings and strange shapes in the shadows. Many people around are starting to believe in ghosts, even him. Then he asked where I was from."

"Monsters?" Annabeth suggested, looking at Grover.

He covertly sniffed at the wind. "There's something big around here," Grover said nervously, "I haven't smelled anything this strong since the Titans were walking around free range."

Everyone looked a bit anxious at that.

_"__Che cosa stai dicendo?" _the driver asked.

_"__Volevano solo sapere cosa e io stavamo parlando."_

He nodded.

"He was wondering what we were talking about," I told them before the others could ask.

"So, when we get to the Coliseum, what are we going to do?" Derick asked.

Annabeth was just about to answer, when my eyes widened. She looked at me curiously. "What is it?" she asked.

I swallowed dryly. "I know what we're looking for," I said quietly, "The guy we're looking for, well, it's more like he's been looking for us."

The boat docked at the pier about a mile from the Coliseum. I thanked the driver before we started towards the Coliseum. Annabeth and the others were badgering me about what I meant.

I chewed my lip. "He's looking for us," I said, "I don't know how else to explain."

I looked over my shoulder. The apparition was still there, looking around with his cold, grey eyes. His face was all scratched up, as if a bird had been flapping in his face for several decades. His black hair was tied back in a pony tail. I don't know why, but at the time, I couldn't explain to the others what the guy looked like, or bring myself up to say anything about the man who seemed as if he was searching for us.

"What are you looking at?" Johnny asked.

"Nothing," I told him, which was mostly true. They couldn't see the apparition. When we had docked, the man had been standing _right in front of us. _They didn't say anything. In fact, Grover had walked right through him, scattering the apparition for a moment, and had only frowned at the look that had been on my face. "I just feel like someone's watching us."

"Don't we all?" Derick said mockingly.

The others could tell something was off when I didn't retaliate. Dominic grabbed my wrist to get me to stop.

"Okay, what is wrong?" he asked.

I looked over his shoulder to the pier. The guy wasn't there anymore. I put a hand to my head. "I... I don't know. Maybe it's just Iapetus toying around with my mind or something."

They looked troubled by this, but didn't have much time to think about it, seeing how the guy at the pier appeared right next to me.

"Oh, my father is definitely toying with you," he said as all the blood drained from my face, "And no, I'm not a part of your imagination. You really _do _have a gift, you know."

I backed away, as did the others. "Prometheus," I said shortly.

"Avalon Gaery," he replied.

My thumb rested on my ring. "What do you want?" I hissed.

"I want to offer you a deal," he said as if that was obvious, "You want your friend, I want my brother. I know where my father has Perseus Jackson, among other various things. All I need you to do is get my brother back and all you want to know is yours."

"Let's do it," Derick said.

"Wait," Annabeth snapped, "Epimethius, right? That's who you want?"

"Yes, I want that guileless fool of a Titan," Prometheus answered, but he never looked away from me, "Will you take the challenge?"

"What's the catch?" I asked, hoping my voice was stronger than I felt, "I've heard a lot about you, Prometheus. You never help another fairly. You always have another goal in mind."

He tapped his lips as if thinking. "Yes, I suppose I am very much like my father in that way," Prometheus said slowly, "But the last few times I went against the gods, well..." He winced.

"You got tied to a rock with vultures pecking out your liver," I growled, "Yeah, we know."

Prometheus flinched. "Don't bring up the vultures," he said, "Anyways, the last time I went against the gods, nothing good came out from it. Epimethius is a fool, but he and I both helped in the creation of mankind. And he's still my brother. I might not care for you or anyone you know, daughter of Apollo, but I know you care about Perseus Jackson. You help me, and I'll help you. Who knows? Your father might think you brave for trusting a titan."

For one scary moment, I had a vision of my father praising me. He was happy, speaking in poems that were, for once, pretty good. And then I remembered the creepy voice that had spoken to me on several occasions. Shaking my head, I put my hands to my temples and took a step back.

"Stop it," I whispered, "I'm not that much of a fool to go for temptations with bigger things on the line."

"Hmm." He looked at me curiously. "Your father must be proud. You aren't as vengeful as he is."

I had to fight the urge to pull out my knife and run him through with it.

"Don't you tell me what my father thinks," I hissed.

Prometheus raised his hands in surrender. "Maybe you are just as vengeful," he mused, "But I'll tell you where my brother was taken and I'll let you all think about what I have said. Epimethius is within Medea's lair. I already gave you the map to an entrance into her prison. Find my brother, convince him you are friends, and bring him back to me. I will tell you everything I can about where the son of Poseidon is, after you bring Epimethius to me, of course."

I glanced at the others. They didn't seem all too sure. If he double crossed us...

"Swear on the River Styx," I blurted out.

He laughed. "At least one of your friends know that won't do much," he said, "Why would you even offer?"

"You know it would be different for you and I to swear on the River Styx together," I said, "And you need your brother. If you really want your brother back, swear on it."

Prometheus's laughing stopped abruptly. His whole demeanor went from relaxed to tense and cold in seconds. "You drive a hard bargain," he told me in a monotone, "but I will do as you say. I swear on the River Styx."

Thunder rumbled in the distance.

"You already gave us the map?" I asked stonily.

"Yes," he said curtly, "Now go fetch my brother."

"What was that about?" Johnny asked.

I didn't reply. I had taken the map from Annabeth and was now leading us to where the entrance to Medea's lair was. She seemed to understand Prometheus's and my talk. After all, she knew about me being immortal.

"Avalon, I'm talking to you," Johnny said, getting angry and irritated now, "Can you at least look me in the face?"

"I can't explain, Johnny," I said coldly, "Not yet at least."

"But that was a _Titan!_" Johnny said, "A predecessor to the gods! And he just, I don't know, he just sort of freaked out. How did you do that?"

"I don't know, Johnny," I lied, "I said a few words and he stopped laughing. I don't know everything."

"Well, you obviously know something about this!" he shouted, "We aren't stupid enough to not notice that something's been going on and you haven't told us!"

I stopped walking. "I can't explain," I seethed, "Trust me on this. If I did, none of us would have any chance of getting Percy back. He'd probably die a really, _really _painful death. Now, can we just move along and get to wherever Iapetus is hiding him?"

Johnny still looked like he wanted to argue, but he kept his mouth shut and continued to walk. Grover looked a bit pale at what I said, probably because he and Percy had an empathy like, which sort of meant that if one of them died, the other would die also. We reached the end of the red line the Titan had showed us. I put the map away and jumped back in surprise at what I saw.

A man with a loosely fitting shirt and pants with bright green eyes and dark hair was standing around, looking at a grille near the side of the Coliseum. I could hear some sort of music, lovely music, coming from below the grille. As I watched, the man seemed to relax and started looking for a way to open the grille.

"What is it?" Dominic asked.

"You don't see him?" I replied.

"See what?" several of them said.

I shook my head. "It must be another apparition," I decided, "It's nothing huge, but can you hear any music?"

We listened as hard as we could. Soon, the apparition slid down the chute. I walked over to the grille. The closer I got, the more I was sure I could hear something. There was someone singing, and the playing of a harp or maybe a lyre was in the background. If my father heard this music, he'd be jealous of whoever it was who was playing it. I barely even noticed my hand stretching out to open the grille until someone grabbed my hand.

"We can't go down there," Annabeth said.

I frowned. "Why not?" I couldn't see how any danger could come from the place where that music was coming from.

"Medea's down there!" she said, "She's an evil sorceress! She'll kill us just like she killed the people in the myths, which are true!"

I furrowed my brows, trying to concentrate. The music was still playing as lovely as before. I found myself saying, "I don't think she'll kill us."

Annabeth shifted nervously. "Avalon, usually when gods ask for help, they don't care if you die or not. A _Titan _asking for help, on the other hand... That's just unheard of."

"Prometheus was telling the truth," I said, "And Medea won't kill us. Trust me."

"We need to find Percy, don't we?" Derick said, "Prometheus wants his brother back in exchange for the information about Percy. We need to go down there."

"I'll be first," I said, pulling open the grille and sliding down the chute before anyone could stop me.

"Avalon!" I heard Dominic shout.

I slid a few more feet and stumbled into a wall before I could answer. Peeling myself off of the wall, I called up to the others. "I'm fine! It's just really dark down here."

Looking around, I couldn't see anything. I felt something dripping down my lips. Surprised, I put my hand up to my nose and looked at the Ichor on my fingers. Hurriedly, I wiped away the golden liquid as best I could. A hand suddenly grabbed my shoulder. Alarmed, I spun around, twirled my ring, and pulled back on the string. In the dim glow of light from my bow, I saw Dominic put his hands up.

"Seriously," I said, putting down my bow, "You and Derick need to work on not doing that to me."

"Sorry," he said. Annabeth slid down next to us. We waited for another person to come down, but they seemed to stop for a moment.

"What's taking them so long?" I asked.

"They're probably talking Grover into coming down here," Annabeth said, and sure enough, Grover came sliding down a few minutes later. Annabeth caught him before he could hit the wall. Soon, Derick and Johnny were down the chute also.

"Why is it so dark down here?" Johnny whispered.

"That would be because no one usually comes down this way," said a voice behind me.

We all spun around, the faint glow from my bow illuminating a beautiful lady with long black hair and piercing green eyes. Her nails had been painted red and when she smiled, it seemed as if the music got louder.

Derick said something real intelligent, like, "Um... gah... Whoa..."

Dominic, Johnny, and Grover had the same look to their faces. The sorceress looked at Annabeth with a little more than a sad welcome before looking me straight in the eyes.

"I've heard quite a bit about you," Medea said, "You can play the piano, right?"

My thoughts were foggy, but I found myself nodding anyways. She smiled at me and then looked at Annabeth again.

"You don't trust me, I see," she said sadly, "I am sure there is not a thing you should be worried about. We have tons of books by the way, and a whole entire library of architecture."

Annabeth seemed to be fighting with herself. After a moment, she managed to say thickly, "I've met your aunt once. She turned my friend into a guinea pig."

Medea shook her head. The guys were still drooling. I still couldn't let my ears stop listening to that music.

"Circe has turned sour, hasn't she?" she said, "I am not like her though, I am actually helping the gods."

"You're helping them?" Grover said absently.

"Yes," she said, "I'm keeping Epimethius away from mankind."

I frowned, looking over her shoulder in frustration. "Where is that music coming from?"

She smiled at me again. "All children of Apollo are curious about music, aren't they?"

"It has an interesting history," I told her, looking at her again, "And as long as we don't have a bow in our hands, yes, we are."

"Good to know," Medea said, "I'm sure you're all famished and tired. Why don't you come with me and I'll get you all set for the rest of your journey, wherever that may be?"

We all nodded and followed her. After a moment or so, lights came on. At first, they were blinding, but my eyes adjusted after a moment. What I saw amazed me.

Musical instruments were all over the place. Violins, violas, harps, lyres, drums – you name it, Medea had it. I even saw a grand piano. How she got everything to fit in there, I have no idea. Awed, I walked over to a display case with a full size violin. It had golden strings and a bow as beautiful as the ray of the moons. Strangely, it reminded me of Apollo and Artemis, though how I could think of those two working together, unless it was a matter of war, I had no clue. I might've started drooling at that point.

"That must cost a gazillion dollars," I breathed.

Medea laughed quietly. "You really are something."

"Where's Epimethius?" Johnny asked, though it sounded as if that was an old memory.

"More like, where's that food I smell," Derick said, "I'm staving!"

For the first time, I realized how hungry I was. I hadn't eaten since hours before the flight, which made the total somewhere around eighteen hours. From a neighboring room, delectable smell was wafting into the room in heavy doses. We all walked forward.

In the next room, a full course meal had been set up. Turkey, sandwiches, chicken, salad, practically everything. Barely anyone talked as we all wolfed down a good portion of it all. Medea sat down and ate a bit slower than the rest of us, but we all stopped eating at the same time. Everyone looked a bit tired, as if they could use a good sleep, but I felt as if something was nagging at me.

"If you must, there's a bedroom in there," Medea said, pointing over to yet another room. I was beginning to feel as if this place was a maze. "And, yes, if you want, you may look at the musical instruments," she added, glancing at me.

"Thank you," we all said.

She left us sitting at the table. Derick was already snoring. After a moment, I stood up and walked into the other room, setting down my backpack on my seat before so. There was a wide variety of instruments to choose from, but I walked over to the piano instead. Experimentally, I trilled my hand over the keys. The sound was magnificent. I had a thought that my father would _really _want these instruments as a gift.

But something was nagging at me.

I knew it was huge, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Usually, playing an instrument would clear my mind a bit. I vaguely remembered hearing from the teachers that they couldn't believe I had ADHD once they heard me play. I put my hands on the piano and started playing the one song I had never, ever gotten right: Chopin Scherzo No. 2 Op. 31.

_Foot on the soft pedal. Trill, trill. Wait, two, three, four, play. Separate the hands. F, G, D, A – oh that was a B._

My thoughts of how the song continued with something like that. I eventually closed my eyes to think of the rest of the nine minute song. The thing that had been on my mind had started with a P and ended with an N. By the end of the song, I still couldn't put my finger on what it was. As the last note died away, a single person began clapping. I looked over, seeing a man with bright green eyes and black hair. His clothes were baggy and a bit lopsided.

A shiver ran down my spine. Epimethius reminded me of Prometheus, and both of them reminded me of their father, the one Titan I'm most afraid of. Even Kronos himself could stand in front of me and I'd at least try to stand my ground. Iapetus, though... I had an aching feeling I would cower in a corner for the rest of my life if I saw an actual, real life glimpse of Iapetus. I tried focusing more on the music that had started up again instead of those disturbing thoughts.

"Where'd you learn to play like that?" the Titan asked, "I haven't heard anything quite so nice in... hmm, let's see... well, let's just say a long while."

"Thanks," I said awkwardly, "I've been called a natural. I've been playing the same song for more than a decade and I can't get it right."

Epimethius frowned. "Looking back on it," he said, "I think I should've asked about how to play piano."

I couldn't see how his meaty hands could play the delicate keys of a piano, but I didn't say anything. I also was a bit confused on how a Titan was friendly, but I didn't say anything about that either.

"Play something," Epimethius urged.

"Er, what should I play?" I asked tentatively.

He shrugged his massive shoulders. "I don't know. I never thought about it."

There was a moment of silence. Dominic shuffled into the room, looking tired, but also a bit worried.

"Avalon, you-" He stopped when he saw Epimethius.

"This is Epimethius," I told him.

"Uh, cool," he said, as if he was trying to think of something, "I'm Dominic."

I suddenly gasped, my hands accidentally pressing down on several of the piano keys as I stood up. "That's why we're here! Percy!"

Suddenly, Dominic didn't look so tired anymore. Glancing between the two of us, he began saying something.

"Get the others," I interrupted, "Make sure Medea hasn't done anything."

He paled before dashing out of the room.

"You can't take him," whispered a voice in the corner of the room.

I turned and glared at Medea. "For one thing, you are upsetting balances up on the world above. I've noticed it, but I doubt you have. No one is reflecting on anything. Epimethius is needed up there."

Epimethius glanced between Medea and I. "The world above needs me?"

"No," Medea said at the same time I said, "Yes."

"They have been doing fine for quite some time," Medea assured him, still glaring at me, "The girl is trying to use you-"

"Your brother is worried about you," I said, "He asked me and my friends to get you out of here, to get you away from this sorceress. If it hadn't been for her, I would've been able to actually remember Percy Jackson's actual name."

"Lies," Medea spat.

"No, I'm not lying," I argued, "And you were probably trying to kill me and my friends anyways!"

She regarded me coldly. "It will not be I who kills your friends, demigod," Medea snarled, "_You_ will."

"What?" I didn't even see how I could think of doing that, much less actually kill them, but I had a feeling Medea did.

"You're musically talented as long as you don't have a bow in your hands, is that right?" she said, "What would happen if you were holding a bow instead?"

She snapped her fingers. I barely noticed when I twirled my ring. Against my will, I pulled back on the string of my bow and aimed my arrow at the doorway leading into the other room. Grover yelped and jumped back as I let loose my arrow. The arrow lodged into the wall as I stepped forward, trying to regain control of myself. But I could feel myself slipping away, my eyesight dimming, my mind becoming more and more crazed by the second.

I managed to shout, "Run! Get out of here!" before I was completely overtaken.


	9. Questions: Derick Yuley

Chapter Nine: Derick Yuley

We ran as fast as we could. As soon as my brother had said, "Percy Jackson," everyone had fallen out of the trance we had been put in. Now, what with Avalon the daughter of Apollo running after us with her scary, glowing, magical, celestial bronze bow from her father, we were forced to run in the opposite direction and do exactly what Avalon told us to do before her moment of becoming insane: Get the Hades out of there.

Johnny stumbled as yet another arrow lodged itself into the ground at his feet. Annabeth pulled us into a dark room and shut the door. I heard a lock click right before something hit the door with a bang. I heard some shuffling before Annabeth pulled out her knife. A faint glow settled in upon us as we moved away from the door.

"What is wrong with her?" Dominic asked. Even though I didn't exactly care about Avalon much, in fact I practically detested her, I knew we had to get her to snap out of it, for Dominic's sake.

"Medea's a sorceress," Annabeth reminded him, "She can use magic."

"We still can't see a thing in this room," Johnny said, "Do you think there's a light somewhere in here?"

"I don't think so," Grover replied.

"Maybe we could use our swords," Annabeth said.

"Oh, yes," I snickered, "Let's all use our weapons as nightlights while Avalon hunts us to the death."

Johnny still took out his Greek Xiphos. Like other Xiphos, it was a double edged, single-handed, two foot long sword that he uses as if he had been born to use. Well, apparently, he used to take fencing class before it came out that he had cancer.

Yeah, anyways, Johnny was a supposed dueling prodigy and Avalon was still out of her mind and trying to kill us. Pounding was coming from behind the door, the door itself already nearly off its hinges.

"Alright," Grover said, "What are we going to do to get Avalon to stop trying to kill us?"

"Can we try getting her to remember things?" I offered, "I mean, we know her more than you two. If Medea put a spell on Avalon that's making her forget, we can jog her memory by saying a few things, right? If not..."

"We'll kill Medea if we can't jog her memory," Annabeth said as if it was normal for us to be talking about murdering someone.

"O-o-okay," I said, "A bit crazy, aren't we?"

"Yeah," Johnny added, "I don't know about killing her..."

Annabeth sighed. "This is a demigod's world, remember?" she said fiercely, "When Percy, Grover, and I went on our first quest, we were nearly killed several times. One time, we were nearly lulled by Medusa herself into becoming a few more of her statues. If we hadn't killed her, we'd be dead and the titans would've taken over New York and Mount Olympus long ago. Sometimes you need to-"

She quickly sheathed her blade when the door exploded. Everyone froze as the possessed Avalon entered the room, her bow drawn and casting a faint glow on the area around her. The light from the door nearly gave our position away, but we were saved by a few feet from the edge of the light. There was something about her that was different. It was either that or the light was playing tricks on us. I couldn't tell what it was, but-

"Her eyes!" Dominic gasped.

I instantly put my hands over his mouth. He instinctively put his hands over mine, aiming to pull me off him, but stopped when Avalon pointed her bow at us. I don't know how Dominic could see the small difference in Avalon's eye color, maybe it was because he spent most of his time gazing into them, but I was noticing it, too. Instead of her regular brown eyes, they were tinged a bit green. And they were glowing. Faintly, yes, but still glowing. If Avalon's bow wasn't scarey, her eyes definitely made her look spooky.

"Don't say anything," Annabeth said so quietly I barely heard.

It seemed like hours before Avalon turned away and marched out of the room through the other door. Annabeth dashed into the room where we had eaten. We all followed her and found her going through Avalon's bag. Dominic began saying something, but stopped when he saw Annabeth take out the box Avalon had been handed on the plane. Avalon had said that Medusa's head was in there, the same one from several years back when, like Annabeth said, Grover, Percy, and her had beheaded the beast that even I remembered vaguely as the snake headed woman who turned people to stone. I noticed someone else standing in the corner of the room. At first, I thought it was Prometheus, but then I saw he wasn't wearing a tuxedo. He was Epimethius, Titan of Afterthought. Dominic followed my line of sight.

"Where is Medea!?" he said angrily.

Johnny and I had to restrain him from trying to pulverize Epimethius.

"Dude, he's a Titan," Johnny said, "He'll probably flick you and you'll die."

After a moment, Dominic calmed down. I was surprised. Usually it was only me in our family who got seriously annoyed or, as in this case, was anything like protective.

"Where is she?" Annabeth asked Epimethius calmly.

He shrugged. "No idea," he said, "She went down that passageway."

Epimethius pointed down a side hall that none of us had seen before. Dominic immediately went over to the hall. Predictably, I ran after him. Inside the hall, there were several unlit torches in a metal bin. Johnny was arguing with Annabeth about staying and trying to jog Avalon's memory. If I knew anything, even he was a bit scared about going into the same room as her. I grabbed Dominic's arm before he could grab a torch.

"Dominic, maybe you should just rethink this for a moment," I said. He cut me off before I could continue.

"That's Avalon! She's possessed!" he snapped, "If there's something I'm going to do, it's stopping Medea from continuing whatever she's doing."

"Look, Annabeth," Johnny shouted from behind us, "I'm no good at dodging arrows from a child of Apollo, much less arrows going as fast as bullets! I think that our only chance is getting Medea to stop doing whatever she's doing, and I doubt she'll go without a sound."

"It isn't a good idea, everyone attacking Medea at the same time," Annabeth said, but she eventually had to agree to let everyone go after Medea. This whole time, the Titan Epimethius stood in the corner, looking like he only sort of regretted telling us where Medea had gone. Dominic picked up one of the torches and Johnny touched the tip of it and jumped back. A spark had ignited the gas on the top of the torch. My brother nearly dropped the torch in surprise. Annabeth looked as if she was calculating something, which is her normal expression, but she seemed almost foreboding. Either way, she picked up another torch and lit it with the fire on the other one.

Shadows danced across the walls as we walked through the passageway Medea had gone through. After a few minutes, we heard what sounded like feet pattering across the ground. I took out my sword. If it was Avalon, we'd at least try disarming her. The others had the same idea. But after a moment, the footsteps began receding in the other direction, so we decided to follow whoever it was. Soon we came to a door that was slightly ajar. There was light coming from under it, so we put our torches in the braziers nearby. We had barely turned back to the door when we saw Avalon with her bow drawn. Stupidly, I raised my sword in a defensive gesture. Surprisingly, I managed to split the arrow as it came at me. As the two halves curved to the sides and fell at my feet, a bright burst of light came from the magical arrow. As the light died away, I saw Avalon stumbling. I rushed over and began fumbling the bow out of her hands. She immediately regained her bearings and elbowed me in the face. I had to give it to her, Avalon packed a pretty good punch, but I was known for my skill of holding onto things. I could hold onto a crazed pegasus while it bucked in midair for hours.

Johnny began helping me with Avalon. We managed to push her against the wall. Using a technique we had been taught at camp, we slammed her wrist against the wall. Her bow fell to the ground and Johnny kicked it over to the others. Avalon lashed out with her knife. I had forgotten about that, as did Johnny. She clipped me on the side of my arm and Johnny just barely dodged her. As I stumbled back, Grover began playing music on his reed pipes, making vines grow from the wall and wrap around Avalon's wrists. She struggled with them, but it was a vain effort. I pressed my hand against the wound in my arm. Dominic was still recovering from the blast of light and seeing Avalon trying to attack us. And, I suppose, me being slashed by Avalon.

"Hmm," someone muttered from down the hall, "You're going to be a bit more troublesome than I thought at first."

We all turned to glare at Medea.

"Return Avalon back to normal!" Dominic demanded.

Medea chuckled darkly. "It's not my fault the gods don't want Epimethius and Prometheus near each other," she said, "I'm only doing my duty."

"I doubt that," Annabeth said, "If the gods knew about where Epimethius was, they would've taken care of him themselves."

She took one step forward and Annabeth yelled, "Look away!"

I saw Dominic cover Avalon's eyes before looked away, shutting my eyes. Everything was silent for a moment.

"It's alright," Annabeth said, "You can look."

I peeked at where Medea was. She was now a statue. Glancing at Annabeth, I saw that she had put Medusa's head back in the box. The vines around Avalon's wrists shrunk away and she nearly fell face first onto the ground, but she fell onto Dominic instead. He put her on the ground and gently patted her face.

"Avalon?" he said, "Avalon, please wake up."

She did nothing.

"Avalon? Please, don't be dead. Avalon? Just say something!"

Annabeth pushed forward and dribbled a bit of Nectar into Avalon's mouth. She didn't seem all too worried about Avalon, as if she knew... I pushed the thought of the card from Chiron's room out of my mind. There could be no way Avalon was immortal.

Avalon coughed and sat up, shaking. With Dominic's help, she stood up. And immediately stumbled to the nearest container, retching as if she had come down with a horrible flu. As expected, Dominic held her hair back.

"So, what now?" Johnny asked, "We find Epimethius again and talk him into coming back up to Rome?"

"No need," said a low voice behind us, "I'm already with you."

Epimethius walked out from the room nearby. Avalon stopped retching for a moment and wiped her mouth on her sleeve.

"Why don't we just get out of here as soon as possible?" she asked, "This place is starting to give me the creeps."

"Finally," I muttered.

We were about to turn around, when Avalon gasped and put her hand to her mouth.

"What?" Dominic asked.

"I... Did I..." She was looking at my arm. I had completely forgotten about Avalon slashing my arm. I was still bleeding, but I could barely feel the gash in the side of my arm.

"Um, yeah, you did that," I said.

She put her head in her hands.

"I can barely feel it," I told her, "Really."

Annabeth came over to me with a bit of Nectar. "Just drink a bit of this."

"I'm fine," I told her.

"Just drink some Nectar," she said again.

"I'll be fine," I said again, "Just give me some cloth and I'll wrap it up."

It took a bit longer to convince Annabeth to just get some cloth, but eventually I got my arm wrapped up.

Somehow, Avalon managed to find a way to the surface again, that didn't involve climbing up a steep, several hundred foot chute. My arm ached, but I guessed that we couldn't really do much about that. Avalon wasn't even looking at any of us. It was eerie how she had so suddenly adopted the _I-am-ashamed _attitude in less than two minutes. Dominic was worrying about her, obviously, and kept hounding her to say something. She didn't do anything except look away and walk around the perimeter of the Coliseum.

Annabeth was looking at Avalon worriedly also, but in a different way than my brother. She seemed almost saddened by a thought that was almost too dark to comprehend. I supposed that being a daughter of the goddess of wisdom and war and all made it so that she could comprehend those sort of things. It almost made me wonder if Annabeth knew about...

_Don't think about it, _I told myself. _Don't even think about how that would be possible._

I guess being all ADHD kind of made the instructions a bit contradicting, though, because I went along and began thinking of immortality.

I had never seen Avalon bleed, first off. I had never even heard of a time when she had gotten hurt. Apparently, she had been through multiple battles with monsters, but hadn't even noticed. And that whole entire thing with her being able to hear a Titan's voice in her mind? Could a regular person deal with that amount of pressure and strain on their mind? My guess was no. They'd be driven insane before the power from that Titan overwhelmed them.

Avalon had always been a bit skittish when anyone even said the name Iapetus. The first time she had explained about how he was the Titan of Mortality, she and Annabeth had glanced at each other as if they were both thinking of something that was both horrid and applied to the subject of the Titan of Mortality.

I jogged up to Annabeth.

"Is Avalon immortal?" I whispered.

She was so shocked, she nearly tripped. The others were still too concerned about Avalon to notice. "No. Why would you think that?" Annabeth snapped.

I held her murderous gaze. "Is she immortal?" I repeated, "I know she's holding something back and it fits with the whole Iapetus thing. He's the Titan of Mortality and just his name freaks her out more than what happens when anyone says Kronos."

As if to prove my point, the area around us turned a sluggish gray. Our whole group looked around nervously, except Avalon, who continued to shuffle forwards.

"See!" I hissed, "She isn't afraid of the Titan who nearly destroyed the world, but she's afraid of the Titan of Mortality! Is she immortal?"

Annabeth's expression was stony. "Why don't you ask her yourself? I don't know."

I returned her annoyed expression. "I know you know, too. The way you two look at each other when something immortal related comes up – I don't see how the others haven't seen it yet."

She exhaled. "Are you going to continue badgering me about something I don't know?"

I couldn't believe her nerve. She obviously knew something! And she just lied to my face! Before I could even think of a retort, Avalon sat down on a bench and twirled her ring. Annabeth seemed to be able to prioritize her thoughts, because she ran up to Avalon and said, "Are you crazy? There are mortals around here!"

Avalon barely looked up as she took off her backpack and took out a white cloth. "Arcieri," she said with a perfect Italian accent, "It means 'archery'. I am sitting in front of an archery range." She began solemnly cleaning the dust off of her intricate bow.

I never really saw it before, but her bow didn't look ordinary anymore. Maybe it was the Mist that had just made it look normal or something, but now it looked like it was made out of pure gold, had swan heads at the tips of the bow, and had etches in it that made pictures. The pictures, however, seemed to swirl and make newer pictures. There was a lion, a snake with multiple heads (a hydra, was it called?), a half-bull, half-man hybrid that I knew as the minotaur, a three headed dog – there were many more, but what caught my eye wasn't most of the ones with monsters I hadn't even seen. What caught my eye, were the ones I _had _seen.

Orthrus, the two headed dog; Prometheus in his tuxedo; Epimethius with his baggy clothes; Medea and her glowing magic. It was all there. Once, the head of Medusa popped up and I flinched back, but it faded away and turned into something I vaguely remembered Rachel the Oracle had drawn: A cavern with three people standing at the bottom of two thrones with a gigantic man sitting in both of them. No one else noticed the bow's shifting pictures.

"Zeus isn't going to be happy," said a guy to my right.

Everyone looked over.

The guy had sandy, sun-kissed hair and brilliant blue eyes. He looked like the type of guy you'd see in a professional soccer team, or someone who just really liked hunting. When he smiled, his teeth nearly blinded me.

Avalon didn't even look up as she acknowledged him with a curt, "Apollo."

The god frowned at his daughter. "You could call me _dad _or something," he said, "Maybe something more poetic, like, _Pere._"

She looked up at that and spat out, "How about, _Pazzo?_"

I didn't know what she said, but apparently Apollo did. He looked at her as if he didn't know how to make her see that he cared about her.

"Kid, really," he said, "I knew that arrow wasn't going to hurt you-"

"Yeah, of course you did," Avalon grumbled, cleaning her bow with more force than necessary, "Because you know absolutely everything."

I thought Apollo was going to get angry at the point, maybe even zap one of us to dust in rage, but he only sighed. Just like how Avalon sometimes would, he rested his head against the brick wall, his hand tapping erratically as if he was aching to play a piano or pluck a lyre.

"You know I had to do that, Avalon," Apollo said exasperatedly, "And you know exactly why."

"Yeah, sure," she said, "You can just tell me there's something wrong with me and then burst into golden showers all you want." Avalon glared at him. "Not really a smart move if you want me as a friend."

"No matter what, you will never be an enemy of mine," Apollo said stubbornly.

Avalon started to retaliate, but Annabeth jumped in. "Sorry, Lord Apollo. Avalon was just possessed by Medea to kill us. She hasn't been in the best of moods."

He nodded, but refrained from saying "I know." Instead he looked at my arm. "I see. She involuntarily hurt you." Apollo poked where my wound was. I was expecting a sharp sting, but instead, a warm tingling sensation settled in. Rolling up my sleeve, I watched as the gash in my arm disappeared.

"Thanks," I said.

He smiled lightly. "It's nothing, being god of medicine and all. But really, smart move making Prometheus swear on the River Styx, though agreeing to do what he said..." Anxiously, the god glanced at the sky. "It being so recent to the Second Titan War, my father has been a bit more paranoid than usual. I cannot tell you whether or not his erratic behavior will grant you access through his realm again."

Talk of Zeus made Avalon's hand jerk. When I looked at her, I saw that her hands were pale. She twirled her bow a fraction of a second before she darted to a nearby trashcan and began retching again. Apollo shook his head sadly.

"Poor dear," he said, "It's worse when my children know these things. Most don't, but Avalon... she's different."

"She says she has dreams of the future," Johnny said, "Is that because she's your daughter?"

Apollo nodded. "The Fates can be cruel. She shouldn't have to be one of those who know."

"Know what?" I asked.

"Some of my children have a higher level of thinking," he said hollowly, "Some of them understand prophecies a bit more than others, especially when it includes them. With Iapetus hounding her every moment of every day, nothing is really going well for her."

For a moment, I thought about how I would react if I had been in Avalon's place. I could see how much strain this whole prophecy/quest/Iapetus thing was putting her under. She knew what several, if not all, of the lines the prophecy included. She probably knew something was going to happen to one of us, or maybe it was her who was going to get more bad luck. And with someone who wanted to kill everyone she knew speaking to her telepathically, no wonder she was angry and short tempered with everyone.

I had to say it, Avalon was pretty brave. She was barely even trained, knew that something bad was going to happen, and she was dealing with an evil lunatic who could access her mind at anytime he wanted, but she still took the quest. Her storming out of the Big House was now making sense to me.

Apollo shook his head. "Do not punish her for erratic actions," he said, "Avalon has enough trouble keeping her mind focused without having to see Iapetus's family wherever she goes."

We all nodded.

"After hearing what Prometheus has to say," Apollo continued, "go to an ocean shore and wait until dusk. Avalon will know what to do after that."

We all wanted to asked him about what he meant, but he just vanished as a ray of sun caught on him.

Avalon stopped retching after a moment. Using the white cloth she had been cleaning her bow with, she wiped vomit off of her mouth. After throwing away the cloth, Dominic helped her to get back over to the bench. My brother pulled out a water bottle for her and felt her forehead.

"You're burning up," he said.

"It happens with soul possession?" Avalon guessed.

"Maybe," Annabeth said, though she still sounded a bit worried.

"Prometheus is coming," I warned them, watching the Titan slowly walk over to us, "Be ready."

"Epimethius!" the Titan exclaimed, patting his brother on the shoulder, "It is good to see you."

"Likewise." Epimethius beamed at Prometheus.

Prometheus looked at us. "Thank you," he said, "I believe you all are in need of some information for your worries."

We all waited anxiously.

"Your friend is back in the U.S.," Prometheus told us, "I don't know exactly where, but I know that you should try the Grand Canyon."

"Why the Grand Canyon?" Grover asked. He sounded a bit upbeat, but I only put that down to him and his fondness towards rock climbing.

"During the Second Titan War," he said, "I overheard Kronos and few of the higher ranked individuals talking about the Grand Canyon. I don't know anything else other than the fact that the Grand Canyon is important. If there was a backup plan, only Kronos and a few selected individuals would know about it. I believe part of their plan is located in or around that place."

"Sounds like a good enough place to start," Dominic said.

"Wait," Annabeth said, "How should we trust you?"

"Ask Avalon," he replied, "She made me swear on the River Styx. Now, my brother and I must be going."

"Whoa, wait-" I began.

"Sorry, but that's all I can say," Prometheus said, "Now, goodbye."

There was a flash of light and the two brothers were gone. Avalon stood up shakily.

"How are we going to get to the Grand Canyon?" she asked, "And please don't say we're going to use another airplane."

"No airplanes," Grover agreed, "Maybe we could find a ship or something."

Avalon shivered. "Poseidon's domain," she muttered, "Great."

"Please don't tell me there's some feud going on between Apollo and Poseidon," Johnny said.

She didn't reply.


	10. Sight Seeing: Dominic Yuley

Chapter Ten: Dominic Yuley

We did as Apollo told us to.

The nearest ocean was quite some ways away, but we managed to pay for another _motoscafi. _We found some food in Avalon's bag – potato chips, Oreos, that sort of stuff – and began eating those on the boat. After throwing up for about a whole hour, I wasn't surprised to see Avalon eating as if she hadn't eaten before in her life.

"What exactly did Apollo say again?" I asked.

"'Go to an ocean shore and wait until dusk. Avalon will know what to do after that,'" Annabeth said.

Everyone looked at Avalon, who didn't look as if she enjoyed talking about her father. I could see why she was mad, but I had a feeling she wasn't angry at him more than she was angry at herself.

"I don't know what he was talking about," Avalon said, "I like the oceans, mainly the wildlife around there, but I don't know why we'd have to go to the beach for the quest."

We were quiet for a few miles. The sun was slowly edging towards the horizon. Apparently Johnny was thinking the same thing I was thinking, because he began digging through our backpacks.

"We don't have any blankets," he said, "It's going to get pretty cold at night."

Avalon was already shivering. She still looked pretty pale, and even a bit green from the rocking of the boat. The driver looked at Avalon with a bit of sympathy and worriedly said something in Italian. Avalon replied and nodded her head.

"She just wanted to make sure I didn't throw up in the boat," Avalon said before we could ask, "She thinks I'm just a bit seasick."

But she wasn't just seasick.

Sitting next to her, I could feel the heat rolling off her in unnaturally high temperatures. In the fading light of the evening, I could see beads of sweat dotting her forehead.

I took off my jacket and put it over her shoulders.

"Dominic-" she began.

"Avalon, you're sick as it is," I said, "You're shivering worse than that guy they pulled out of the ice a few years ago. Just take the coat."

Avalon eventually took my coat. She still looked pretty cold, though. After a moment, she nearly fell out of her seat. I caught her and she jerked awake again.

"Wh-what?" Avalon mumbled.

"You alright?" Johnny asked.

She rubbed her eyes. "Yeah, I'm just tired," she yawned and leaned against my shoulder. The driver said something with a smile on her face, and Avalon blushed, though it was a bit hard to tell with the sun setting. Derick started snickering as Avalon closed her eyes, and I could feel my face burning also. I was glad that, at the time, the sun was practically gone.

Walking on the beach, I could hear the crickets chirping in the nearby forest. There was so little noise from all of us that I could even hear a woodpecker pecking at a tree. Avalon, still groggy from waking up, was leaning on my shoulder as we sat down on a bench.

"Why do you like the ocean so much?" Johnny asked her.

"Listen," she said. She closed her eyes and I was afraid she was falling asleep again, until I heard what she was listening to.

A few birds cawed in harmony. Other birds chirped in answer. The crickets added a nice melody to the sound. Somewhere in the woods, a few wolves howled.

"It's beautiful," Annabeth said.

A clicking sound broke through the music. Avalon looked over at the sea, smiling. I followed her gaze, seeing a flock of dolphins jump out of the water. They were pretty big, I guess. From the shore, I could just barely blot them out with three fingers, and they were probably several miles out.

Avalon stood up and waded into the water until she was knee deep. She looked over her shoulder.

"You think I can call them over?" she asked.

I shrugged. I knew her favorite animal was the dolphin, but I didn't know if _Here, dolphin, dolphin! _was going to work just as well as it would with a cat. But Avalon just turned back to the water and cupped her hands over her mouth. She imitated the sound the dolphins had made earlier. Johnny came over to my side.

"I never thought being at a beach could make someone so happy," he muttered.

"Neither did I," I admitted, "I think it's just the music the animals are making. She really does like music."

I looked over my shoulder, looking for Derick. I wasn't surprised when I saw him picking a lock on a nearby kiosk. I sighed.

"Seriously, we were just attacked by a maniac psycho who wanted our friend to kill us and all he can do is find a lock to pick," I said.

"Dom, I can tell you're itching to do the same," Johnny chuckled, "It's been, what? Two weeks since you last stole anything. That has to be a new record."

I smiled at that. "One week, actually," I told him slyly.

"What did you steal from camp?" Johnny asked.

I slipped my hand into my pocket and pulled out a small bag. Untying the drawstring, I showed him that there were at least ten golden drachmas in there. "I got them off of one of the Aphrodite kids."

"Hey, guys, come over here!" Avalon said.

I looked back over at her. Believe it or not, she had actually gotten a few of the dolphins over to her, though she was now thigh-deep in the water. She was stroking one of them while the others played nearby.

"Dolphins are one of Apollo's sacred animals!" Annabeth said as we began walking over to Avalon, "Why didn't I think of it earlier? Maybe we can get a ride on a few of them or something."

"Ride them?" Grover asked, "Have you seen my feet?"

"It doesn't take much to ride a dolphin," Avalon said, "Usually, they're nice enough to make it easier for you to ride them."

"Usually," Grover muttered, "And I'm not even a regular person!"

One of the dolphins nudged my leg. I petted it like Avalon was.

"Dolphins are pretty smart," Avalon said, "I wonder if they know what we're saying?"

"I don't know," Annabeth said, "I heard there was something with sign language or something like that."

"We could try," Johnny said, but he didn't seem to think that the dolphins would respond.

Avalon, scratching one of the dolphins under his chin, said, "Do you think a few of you could bring us to the Grand Canyon?"

They made a few clicking sounds as my brother waded into the water next to me.

"What did I miss?" he asked.

"I think we're taking dolphins to the Grand Canyon," Grover whimpered.

Riding a dolphin isn't as fun as it sounds, trust me. You might be like, "Oh my gods! Dolphin riding! I so wish I were you!" But half the time I was somewhat submerged in water and freezing cold. Avalon somehow managed to fall asleep on her dolphin and Grover was trying not to freak out. He had tried explaining that he could talk to animals, but I still didn't understand that whole thing. Apparently, the dolphins had been able to hear every word we said and understood us completely.

After several hours, we were on another beach with the sun still down. I stumbled after slipping off of the dolphin, but managed to regain my footing. Avalon was still sleeping. We managed to pull her ashore before the dolphins left. Thirty minutes later, she was still staggering out of exhaustion. I had to support her in order to keep her up and walking. Besides that, she looked a bit better, but it was clear that she wasn't the only one who was really tired.

Annabeth's hair was a rat's nest. Johnny was yawning and rubbing his eyes wearily. Grover barely could pull on his fake shoes. Derick looked fine and was tinkering with a few things he had found in the kiosk, but even he was just shuffling along.

"Maybe there's a hotel we could go to," I suggested, fighting a yawn.

"That would be nice," Annabeth mumbled.

"Maybe we could find one with nice furniture," Grover said hopefully, "And enchiladas, lots of enchiladas."

"Yeah, sure," I said.

Avalon stumbled again and I barely caught her before she fell face first onto the concrete.

"Thanks," she mumbled, leaning on me again as we walked towards a shop. Outside the shop, in little plastic boxes, were maps of the town we were in. I took one and unfolded it. Annabeth came over to my side.

"We're in California," she said, surprised, "We came a long way."

"And in such a short time," Derick said, leaning on the shop. He yawned.

"Can we just sleep here?" Avalon begged.

"No," I said, "We would be way too out in the open."

"Please?" she said. Blearily, she gave me her best puppy dog eyes.

"Avalon, no, we have to be better protected, you know it's not safe for us to be out in the open and be in one place for long."

"Fine."

Annabeth pointed to a building a few blocks away on the map. "We could crash there for now."

"Is there food there?" Grover asked.

"It's a four star hotel," I told him, "I bet there's food."

We set out again. Avalon continued to beg me to stop, but I kept on getting everyone to keep on moving. I don't know why, but there was something that was making the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

The hotel technician was obviously surprised to see six teenagers stumble in. Avalon crashed on the couches in the lobby, as did Derick, Grover, and Johnny. Annabeth went searching through Avalon's bag for some money while I talked to the technician.

"Can we rent a room?" I asked awkwardly.

"First, I need some ID," the guy said.

I knew I had at least a driver's license. My mom had thought it would be nice for me to get a driver's license, and of course, I didn't argue. Patting my pockets, I eventually found my license.

"That's all I have," I told him.

He frowned, but said, "I think it's good enough. But do you have money?"

Annabeth came over. "We have money."

"Any preference?" he wondered.

"At this point, anything," I said.

The guy clicked away at the keys in front of him. After a few moments, he said, "Looks like you're in luck. Room 415 B is free. That'll be about two hundred dollars per night."

Annabeth pulled out a few twenties and handed him the money. "We'll be staying for only one night."

He handed us the key cards. "Sleep well."

"Thank you."

I put my driver's license back into my pocket and went over to everyone else. Avalon was already snoring. I gently shook her shoulder.

"Avalon, we've got a room," I said.

She stirred slightly, but if she heard me, she wasn't giving any signs. Groggily, the others got up.

"Just pick her up," Derick said, "Seriously, I'm not going to wait for Snow White here to wake up just so the rest of us can sleep."

Shaking my head, I scooped Avalon up in my arms. She was pretty light for how tall she was, so I didn't have much of a problem bringing her down the hall and into the room. There were two beds and a recliner inside, with a flatscreen TV on the wall. Johnny and Derick fell onto one of the beds. Grover slid into the recliner, taking a bite out of the seat before anyone could tell him not to. I laid Avalon on the other bed.

"You should rest," I told Annabeth, "I'll keep watch."

"I fell asleep on the plane, you didn't," she argued, "You sleep."

I shook my head. "I can't sleep," I said, "You look like you're about to pass out."

She didn't argue too much after that. Soon, everyone was asleep. I didn't have much else to do, so I turned on the TV and started flicking through the channels.

The thirteenth channel I turned to was a news channel. And they were talking about me and my friends.

There was Avalon's mom, Johnny's parents, and my mom were plastered on the screen. I managed to turn the volume up a bit.

"-Families have reported at least one missing child from their family," a news reporter was saying, "Avalon Gaery, Dominic and Derick Yuley, and Johnny Rosener all disappeared under mysterious circumstances earlier in the month." All of our faces appeared on the screen. "Avalon, Dominic, and Derick disappeared several days before Johnny. Neighbors recall hearing weird noises, much like a canine's, during the time said that these three kids initially went missing. Johnny Rosener, a recent cancer patient, heard of this and immediately started worrying about his three friends. His step-father said that Johnny _was _fit to walk and that it was possible he went to find his friends."

The next screen the news channel showed was one I could barely stand looking at: My mother tearfully pleading with anyone watching to help find her two lost sons.

"Please," she said, "they're barely even eighteen. They're probably lost and confused and – and..." She broke into hysterical sobs.

The news reporter put his arm around my mom before continuing. "The other families are in distress also. Recently, a New York airport has reported seeing a young lady that fit the description of Avalon Gaery. The technician said he only realized it was Avalon until the seventeen year old had gotten six tickets to Rome, Italy and had gotten on the plane, saying that her parents were waiting in line for food and that she had three brothers accompanying her. Police have notified the FBI, but are still looking for new leads on the case. If you or anyone you know, knows anything about these missing kids, please call the hotline bellow. Back to you, George."

I muted the TV. My mother was worried sick about Derick and I. Avalon's and Johnny's, too. And our case had just gone federal.

I was tempted to run back to my mother and tell her not to worry. But I couldn't just do that to Avalon and Derick and the others. Least of all, I couldn't do that to Percy while he was in the hands of the titans' henchmen. Still, it was tempting.

I was still thinking of that when Derick woke up. He took one glance at me and knew something was wrong.

"What's up?" he asked.

"I was just watching the news," I said.

"And?"

I swallowed dryly. "They were talking about us... I saw Mom on there. She's worried sick."

"How worried?" Derick asked carefully.

"She could barely say a sentence," I said.

"Let's go," he said.

"We can't just do that," I argued, "Not to Percy. Not to..." I trailed off, glancing at Avalon.

"Dude, this is our mom," Derick said, "I know you have a crush on Avalon, but still-"

"Have you ever thought there's more at stake than just saving Percy?" I snapped, "These are _titans _we are dealing with, beings even more powerful than the gods. If they _do _rise..." I shook my head. "There won't be a New York, much less a home, we could go back to."

"Dom-"

"Remember that supposed freak storm from a few months ago? And how New York was devastated?"

He looked away.

"_I_ was there when it happened. _You _had ran away from home, leaving mom and I scared, and worried, and wondering where in Hades you went. When she passed out, I was there to make sure those _monsters _didn't get anywhere near her. There were hellhounds. There were kids attacking each other. There were living skeletons. I _told _you that the storm wasn't a storm. And..." My voice cracked as I remembered the worst of it. Auntie Em's Emporium. The statues. "I _saw _Kronos, Derick. I saw him."

His eyes widened. "What? You never-"

"Of course, I never told you, Derick. What would you have thought if I said that in the place I was hiding with mom's limp body, I saw a man with glowing eyes who could freeze time itself? Speaking of all this, where were you?"

Derick's expression hardened. He looked in me in the eyes. "I was in San Fran. On Mount Tam. You know what I saw up on that mountain? I never believed my eyes at the time, but I saw a Titan holding up the sky. Demigods were attacking a palace that was built on the tip of Mount Tamalpais. There was another Titan there, someone called him Krios. A guy with military cropped blonde hair and electric blue eyes was leading the attack. _He _was the one who found me."

I lowered my gaze. I was still angry with him for running away from home that week, but I had to say, he hadn't had much fun that week either. True, my experience was probably even scarier, but his was probably scary, too.

Johnny yawned and sat up.

"What're you two talking about?" he asked.

"Go back to bed, Johnny," Derick grumbled.

"Oh," he said, "You two are talking about _that._"

We had been forced to tell Johnny about our... _differences. _That was before it became apparent that Johnny had cancer. Johnny, with his good memory and pretty good problem solving skills, had managed to get us two to nearly forgive each other.

"Seriously, when are you two going to stop fighting each other about that?" Johnny asked, "And when are you going to tell each other the whole truth?" He winced as if he wasn't supposed to say anything about that.

"We already told each other," I muttered, laying down on the bed, "Now, I think I'm going to go to sleep. Will one of you keep watch, make sure nothing happens?"

"Sure," Johnny said.

I thought it would take me a while to get to sleep, but almost as soon as I closed my eyes, I fell asleep.

If no one else has said it already, then let me tell you this: Demigod dreams suck.

In the dream, the campers were scrambling for armor and weapons. Clarrisse was ordering her cabin into a phalanx formation, their shields locked in place. From the forest there came a mighty roar. Maybe it was a dragon, or a drakon, though I never really got the difference between the two. One was older than the other or something, but anyways, back to what happened.

From the forest came something golden. At first, I couldn't make out what it was. I only knew that it was huge, and it could breath fire. The Ares cabin was forced to back up as the ground in front of them burst to flames. A few Apollo kids were attempting to shoot the beast back into the forest, but their arrows weren't doing much. The armor of the thing attacking Camp Half-Blood was metal.

And I knew that because the thing attacking was a metal dragon.

I had heard stories about the Bronze Dragon. The Hephaestus cabin had made a dragon and a guy named Beckendorf had been in control of the huge automaton. Then Beckendorf died right before the Battle of Manhattan. Ever since then, it had been haywire, attacking anything in sight, which included demigods and dryads. A few kids had made traps to capture the Bronze Dragon, but with its sharp claws and fire breath, they haven't had much luck.

A few Hephaestus kids were coming at its sides, throwing chains and nets, but the Dragon lashed out, snapping the cords and breathing fire at the demigods. A scream shattered my thoughts and I woke up, my eyes snapping open.

Avalon started, but managed to stay where she was. "Good, Dominic, you're awake."

I heard Derick mutter, "Finally."

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Well..." Grover clopped nervously, "We have just about ten minutes to get out of here before a gryffin comes pounding down the doors of the hotel."

"A gryffin?" I said.

"There's no time to explain it," Avalon said, pulling me off of the bed and to my feet, "I had a vision, blah, blah, blah, not very important. But a gryffin is coming to kill us all."

"How-" I began.

"Don't argue with a child of Apollo," Avalon said, "Just trust me."

I decided to not argue any further. We grabbed our stuff and left, handing our cards back to the technician. We barely waited for him to say anything to us before we bolted out of the doors.

"Won't the gryffin come here first?" Johnny asked.

"Yes," Avalon said grimly, "But us crossing the path and turning away will confuse it. For about one minute."

"Then?" Derick asked.

"Then it will follow us until it reaches its goal," Avalon answered.

"What can we do for now?" I wondered.

"We could run for the Grand Canyon until the monster catches up with us," Annabeth said.

"And how are we going to get there before the gryffin?"

Avalon winced right before a glowing light perched itself above Johnny's head. It was a lightning bolt. Annabeth looked at Johnny with a newfound respect. Grover whimpered as if he was now scared of the kid.

Johnny looked at the sign curiously. "Does that mean..."

Avalon, almost as if annoyed, grabbed his and Annabeth's arm and continued walking down the street. The lightning bolt vanished immediately.

"Yes," she said, "You're father is Zeus, almighty Ruler of Olympus, King of the Gods, yadda, yadda, yadda. You should be able to fly, shoot electricity, and have inborn leadership skills. Yeah! Everyone would be kneeling before you if we were at camp, as they did with Percy, but of course, we aren't at camp, and there's a gryffin chasing after us. And no, I'm not going anywhere near your father's domain _ever _again." She looked at me. "Can I have a drachma?"

"How'd you-"

"Give me a drachma, Dominic," Avalon said.

She sounded urgent enough, so I took out my pouch of drachmas and handed her one. She was just about to throw it out into the street when Annabeth caught her wrist.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm calling the Grey Sisters," Avalon said simply and tossed the coin into the road. "_Stêthi 'Ô hárma diabolês,_" she said.

Instead of clinking on the road, the drachma sank into the asphalt. Black, swirling smoke started rising from the ground, forming something that looked like a taxi. Avalon looked at me again.

"Can I have another drachma?" she asked.

Almost too awed to do anything else, I handed her two, for good measure. The windshield came down, revealing three women with gray skin in the front seat. The one looking at us had one eye. Looking passed her, the middle one only had one tooth. The driver had neither. All of them had long, stringy hair that fell to their shoulders.

"You called for the Grey Sisters?" the one with the tooth asked.

"Yes," Avalon said, "We might be a tight squeeze, but-"

"As long as you can pay!" the driver said, "If you can pay, we'll take you."

"Hmm, I don't know, Tempest," the one with the eye said, looking at Annabeth, "I remember one of them. She came with the guy who took our eye and nearly killed us all!"

Avalon cursed as if she had forgotten about that. I was still lost.

"I have two drachmas," she said, "Will that be enough?"

She held the two coins up and waved them tantalizingly.

The nearest one swiped at Avalon's hand. She jumped back in the nick of time, just out of reach.

"You'll get them," she promised, "if you take us to the Grand Canyon."

"The Grand Canyon isn't all too far for two golden drachmas," Tempest mused.

"Fine! Get in!" the others agreed.

The back door opened. There was probably enough room for us, if we all lost about twenty pounds. Instead of seat belts, there were chains. Not all that promising, but Avalon and Annabeth got in anyways. Somehow, we managed to get four of us in the seats, those being Derick, Avalon, Grover, and Johnny. Annabeth and I were crouched with our feet pressed against the bottom of their chairs and our backs hitting the the back of the Grey Sisters' chairs.

"This is really uncomfortable," I muttered.

"Just hang tight," one of the Sisters said, "We don't have a long ride."

And then, we were off.

We must've been passing the speed limit by at least two hundred miles. Annabeth had been smart to have us both put our backs to the Sisters and our feet on the bottom of the seats. The initial impact of that speed would've made us face-plant into a window and probably get knocked unconscious. Permanently.

Outside the window, trees whipped past so fast the image stayed blurred in my memory. The Grey Sisters were fighting, and from the way the others looked, they were just about as frightened as they could be with monsters fighting each other and driving a gazillion miles an hour at the same time. I risked looking at what the Sisters were doing.

Tempest was reaching over, trying to get the eye from the furthest one away while the same one scrabbled to get the other one's tooth.

"Wasp!" Tempest shouted, "Give me the eye!"

"No! Turn left!" Wasp growled, "Anger, you've had the tooth for too long! Give it to me!"

"Let me have the drachmas and bite them, or no!" Anger snapped.

Annabeth seemed a bit worried as the car swerved and then readjusted, but looked as if the last time she was in this car, this was exactly what happened. I sat back down and looked at Avalon, wondering how she knew about this dreaded cab.

"Sea of Monsters," she said, reading my expression, "When Annabeth and Percy and his brother, Tyson, needed to get to Camp Half-Blood quickly, they used the Grey Sisters' cab."

"He nearly threw our eye out the window!" the Grey Sisters grumbled, "We very nearly died."

"Sounds like Percy," Grover bleated, "Always in the middle of life and death situations."

"Yeah," Annabeth said, "But how do you even know about that, Avalon? You didn't even know about being a demigod at the time."

Avalon flinched. "I actually did."

"You did?" Johnny asked. He put his hand on the ceiling to avoid bumping his head on the top of the cab.

"Yeah," Avalon said, "It's complicated. When I had one dream... I sort of knew." She shivered. "The attacks immediately got worse."

We went over a series of bumps, and no one talked.

"How long did you know about being a demigod?" Annabeth asked quietly.

"It's been..." She frowned. "I don't know. It's been a while."

"Wasp! Give me the eye!" Tempest shouted again.

"You had it yesterday-"

"And I'm driving!"

They began scratching each other and hitting each other. After a few moments of silence on our end, the cab swerved and spun to a stop. Tempest was laughing in triumph. Apparently, she had gotten the eye back. Avalon looked out her door and nearly screeched, jumping so far she landed in Johnny's lap. She was so scared that she didn't even try getting off of him. Johnny blushed and looked at me apologetically, but we both knew that there was no way Avalon was moving until the threat was eliminated.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"We nearly toppled into the Grand Canyon," she said faintly.

Grover opened the other door and we began filing out. As soon as Avalon's feet hit the ground, the Grey Sisters floored it and left us at the Grand Canyon. I looked around. My eyes rested on a small building a little ways away.

"Is that the Grand Canyon Skybridge?" I asked.

Annabeth nodded. "I think we should go over there."

Avalon looked pale, but her eyes looked like she was steeling herself to go across a bridge several hundred feet up. "Alright," she said meekly, "Let's do this."

The Grand Canyon Exhibit place might have been interesting, had we not just been chased out of California by a mad gryffin that we hadn't even seen.

"If I was trying to be discreet," Derick said, "I'd definitely go to a canyon that was a national monument where regular mortals came everyday."

"It's actually a pretty good idea," Avalon said.

Everyone looked at her.

"What do you mean?" Johnny asked.

"The Mist is stronger here than most places," she said as if that was obvious, "Look, my ring isn't even glowing anymore."

She held up her hand for us to see. Her magic ring did in fact look like a regular, solid gold ring. There was even-

I grabbed her hand. Everyone stopped.

"Um, Dom, I'm not sure if you haven't noticed yet," Derick snickered, "but this isn't exactly the time to get all lovey-dovey."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not being _lovey-dovey,_" I said, "I saw something engraved on the ring. It's in Greek."

Avalon looked at the ring closely. There was an inscription on the outside of the ring. I read it as _Trust Me. _I didn't really make anything out of it, until Avalon muttered, "Dad."

Of course. Apollo had given her the magic bow. He had probably been the reason why the secret hatch had opened in the first place. He had given his daughter and Derick and I the blades we were using this very moment.

Another thought came to me: Avalon had just said "Dad." Not "Apollo," or _"Pazza." _Maybe she was finally warming up to him, but with those two words, I thought I had heard something like regret in her voice. Perhaps Avalon had seen a message in it that she hadn't been able to see before. Whatever it was, I, at least, knew she was warming up to her father.

Abruptly, she put her hand down. "Let's continue," she said.

No one argued. I had a feeling some of them were a bit uncomfortable.

We made it to the Skybridge. I remembered a few kids from my previous schools coming here once or twice in their life. They had said the view was amazing. I suppose the view was nice, I could see practically half of the Grand Canyon from where I was standing, but something was nagging at me. Something I knew I should know, but it was just out of reach. My instincts told me to look over my shoulder every few paces. Avalon, obviously, wasn't all too keen to go out onto the Skybridge and looked paler still, but eventually came out with us.

Tourists were taking pictures of the Grand Canyon in between keeping their kids from falling off the tall heights. Avalon refused to go anywhere near the edges, preferring to stay in the center of the Skybridge. I couldn't blame her. Even when I looked over the edge of the bridge, I had a bit of vertigo. Johnny was completely fine, as was Annabeth. Derick simply didn't look straight down.

"So, if you decided to make an army base in the Grand Canyon," Derick asked, scanning the desert surrounding us, "where would you put it? Underground? At the direct bottom? Under the stream?"

"Probably not the stream," Annabeth said, "Poseidon and any of the minor river gods would know immediately and tell Zeus."

"Unless," Derick countered, "the minor river god didn't like Zeus. Or he just thought that Kronos's side was the better pick."

I shivered. Talk of Kronos would be bad enough if I hadn't even seen him. But I had, and he was just that much more creepy.

Johnny looked over his shoulder, looking at Avalon. "I don't know if it's a smart idea for Avalon to be out in the open like that," he said, "I mean, the news reports are probably going to just get more and more frequent. If one of the tourists sees us..."

We'd all be chased after by the Feds. And by monsters. And probably gods, and titans, and even worse things.

"Avs!" Derick called.

Avalon frowned at him; she hated his nicknames for her. "What is it?" she asked.

"Come over here, we've just thought of something," he said.

She flinched. "I'm fine where I am," she said sheepishly.

Sighing, he turned the rest of the way to look at her, but I caught his wrist.

"Are you crazy?" I hissed, "You know Avalon. She'll either punch your face or pull out her knife. Really, we don't need anymore attention as it is."

He was reluctant, but he turned back to look at the Grand Canyon again.

"So," Derick said gloomily, "what do we do-"

Someone behind us gasped. We turned around and saw one of the tourists standing over Avalon, who was sprawled on the ground. I ran over to her.

"I don't know what happened," the guy said, "She just collapsed."

I said the first thing that came to mind. "She's afraid of heights."

He looked at me disapprovingly, though he seemed a bit more relaxed. "You know her?" he asked, "And yet you let her come out here?"

"I tried to talk her into not coming out," I said, "but she's a bit stubborn."

Avalon stirred slightly. I helped her sit up. I barely even noticed that practically everyone had come over when Avalon had collapsed.

"What happened?" she mumbled.

"You passed out," I said, "Maybe it's the heights. Come on, let's get you inside."

Helping her to her feet, Johnny and I managed to get her inside and into another seat before her legs completely gave way.

"I'm going to guess that you fainting like that wasn't a natural thing?" Annabeth said quietly.

Avalon shook her head, looking troubled. "Do you know anyone named Jason? Or Leo and Piper?" she asked.

"No," Annabeth said, "Why?"

She rubbed her eyes as someone came over with a glass of water. "Thanks," she said. After waiting for the guy to leave and taking a sip of the water, Avalon continued. "Weird vision," she mumbled, "It's probably nothing important."

I could tell there was something that was really bothering her about what she had seen, but she wouldn't let on. Annabeth asked multiple times what was wrong, and Avalon, in return, only looked away and drank her water.

"Avalon, if you won't tell us what you saw," Annabeth asked, "then at least explain _why _you won't tell us."

Avalon shifted nervously. "I just can't say," she said, "It would become meaningless, I suppose, and then it won't happen. And if it doesn't happen..." She made a face somewhere between a grimace and a wince and I got the feeling that, even for her, the subject was unfathomable.

I looked over my shoulder. "Where's Derick?" I asked.

Annabeth frowned and said, "Maybe he's on the Skybridge."

I stood up. Without even waiting to see if they were following me, I went back out to the Skywalk. Derick was still looking over the edge of the canyon. Johnny was arguing with him, but as I watched, Derick put his hands on his shoulders and turned him around, not taking his eyes off of what he was looking at. Johnny took one look at me before turning around and beginning to argue with Derick again.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"There's something down there," Derick said.

"Derick has been staring at a speck on the horizon while Avalon is probably vomiting again," Johnny said.

"I'm serious, there's something down there," Derick said, "If you'd just _look _using your eagle sharp eyes or whatever, maybe you'd be able to see why I'm sort of freaking out."

Shaking his head, Johnny looked in the direction Derick was looking. After a moment, his eyes widened. "Whoa."

I looked over at where they were looking. It seemed as if the heat was making shimmering effects on the rocks, so I didn't get what they were so worried about.

"Look through the Mist," Derick said.

I concentrated until I thought my eyes were going to pop out of my skull. Then I gasped. Behind the shimmering was a whole entire factory-looking place. It seemed as if a whole bunch of people were roaming around down there, but the hair on the back of my neck stood on end and something that belonged with my natural demigod instincts told me they weren't people, they were monsters. Loads and loads of monsters.

"What are they doing?" I muttered.

"Who knows?" Derick said, "But if Apollo wanted to help us get over to here _and _a Titan gave us their help, I doubt that these guys are on our side."

Johnny was about to reply when several people screamed and ran back into the museum. I cursed, wondering what was coming next. When I turned, I nearly froze in fear.

There was a reptilian monster with several long necks and several heads to go with them. As it roared, I saw rows of sharp teeth. There was one monster I knew of that had been described like that: The hydra.

Annabeth, Avalon, and Grover materialized by my side. All of us were the last ones out on the bridge. One of the security guards were yelling at us to hurry up, holding the doors open for us. He was just about to run over to us and grab us, when something made him stop and reach for his gun holster. Turning back, I saw Annabeth with her knife out and the hydra inching forward. Avalon glanced over her shoulder at the mortals, probably thinking the same thing as me, but shrugged and twirled her ring. Immediately she was holding her bow. She pulled back on the string and let loose the arrow. The monster staggered and roar, making the mortals all back away from the doors, but it didn't disintegrate. Avalon sharply put her bow down, cursing in what sounded like French.

"This isn't going to end well," Grover muttered.

"Power can be overwhelmed by numbers," Annabeth said. She seemed pretty confident, as if she had gone against this thing before. I bet she had on one of her quests with Percy, but she did seem a tad bit cautious. And we didn't have much time, seeing how the hydra began spitting acid at us. Derick managed to duck before anything hit him and the acid flew straight over his head and onto the other side of the canyon.

"Let's get this thing away from the mortals," I said, pulling out my sword.

"Agreed," the others all said.

Avalon dashed to one side and shot another arrow, drawing the beast's attention. Meanwhile, Johnny and Annabeth ran to the back and threw rocks or risked getting up close to draw the hydra that way. Grover had the lucky job of trying to make the rocks hit the monster. I had to dance in front of the hydra, making sure none of the acid hit me and that the thing would turn and gobble down my friends.

Slowly but surely, we got the beast off the bridge. Yay, the mortals weren't going to be dead a little while longer, but now the hydra was just angry and wanted us all dead. It was oozing green blood everywhere and several arrows were sticking out of its side, but it didn't seem winded at all. Us, well... We weren't doing as well.

The hydra spat acid at Johnny and one of Grovers rocks caught the spurt, but began dissolving. Annabeth put on her cap of invisibility and began to do something, but I couldn't tell what. Derick was trying to find a weak point, feinting around the hydra and getting a feel for where its heads would go. Avalon shot an arrow. It went clean through one of the heads. For a moment, the whole neck went slack, and then the neck grew into two necks, with two heads. Maybe, if we could just get close enough...

"The legs!" I shouted.

"We need to get it further away from the mortals," Annabeth said.

Go figure. The mortals weren't safe until they couldn't see the harm. I picked up a small rock, ducking behind a bigger one as acid flew my way, and glanced at Avalon. I showed her the rock and pointed back at the hydra and she got the idea. Putting her fingers to her lips, she made one of the loudest whistles probably known to mankind.

I suppose the sound was something like music or it was poetic or whatever, but the noise got the attention of the hydra so well, she could've been using a dog whistle to grab the attention of a very rowdy dog. I threw my rock at it and the monster came forward at a trot.

"If we anger it, maybe it'll come faster," Avalon mused.

"If we anger it," I said, "We'd be dead meat."

"Alright," she sighed, and whistled again.

I don't know why, but the sound seemed to really annoy the hydra, as if it had been taught to attack and kill anything that made that noise. Every now and then, the hydra would lash out at Johnny or Derick or spit acid at Grover, though it never really managed to reach its mark. Around the same time, more slashes would appear in the monster's side, seemingly casted there by some unseen force named Annabeth Chase.

I was just about to throw another rock when the hydra managed to hit Johnny on his shoulder with enough force to make him go flying backwards and hit a rock. He didn't looked dead, but he was certainly unconscious. I looked behind us. There was a few feet of space behind us, and then a really long drop to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

"Avalon, we should get the others to push it over the edge," I said, but another thing happened: One of the heads collided in midair with what seemed like nothing and Annabeth, her cap falling off while she flew, dragged several feet on the desert ground before stopping. Avalon and I had only taken our first step towards the sides of the hydra. Grover frantically played on his reed pipes, making plants erupt from the ground and tangle around the hydra's body, but even that didn't seem to work all too well as Avalon and I circled around the monster to where Derick and Grover were.

"We can't defeat this thing!" Derick said, but he still held his ground, dodging a jet of acid.

"We have to try," I replied, accidentally swiping at one of the heads and knocking it clean off. Two heads replaced the one I just destroyed.

"Get back!" Avalon shouted.

Seeing how she had a plan and none of us did, everyone followed her orders. We stepped a few paces back while Avalon darted in. Wait. Her main weapon was a _bow. _Why would she be going in closer?

"Avalon!" I shouted, but it was too late, she grabbed the six heads as if she were hugging them and pushed. I ran forward, but Derick, as if in a trance or something, held me back. I fought him, but I was fighting in vain. The picture from Rachel Dare's cave came to my mind, as well as the prophecy. She had known that this was going to happen, that Avalon would sacrifice herself to save us. There was a moment where Avalon was just pushing the hydra towards the edge of the canyon while the six heads spat their acidic venom and bit her viciously. Avalon just kept going. She seemed almost unaware of the pain that should be making her fall to her knees by now. And then the two of them slipped.

They vanished from view.

"NO!"

With a renewed strength, I fought Derick again. I didn't care what he thought, but that was my best friend. She had just risked her life to save us. I eventually got Derick off of me and crouched at the edge of the canyon. As I watched, Avalon and the hydra twirled through the air, tumbling over each other and then – _Bang! _With a huge cloud of dust, they hit the bottom of the canyon. My eyes stung as they tried to compute what they had seen to my brain. But it was like trying to get a dog to meow. It couldn't get through.

"Where's..." Annabeth's voice was small, as if she was just coming out from her unconscious state. "Oh, gods, no."

There was a sharp intake of breath from behind me. I heard a sword clatter to the ground and several pairs of feet ran up to where I was. Derick knelt next to me.

"Oh, man, did she..." He didn't need to finish his sentence. All he had to do was look at my uncomprehending face. Derick put his arm around my shoulders, hugging me tightly to his side. For a moment, I was too stunned to do anything.

It was only when Derick said, "It'll be okay," that I snapped.

"No, it won't be okay, Derick!" I shouted, standing up and walking away from him, "Avalon just pushed herself and the hydra off the cliff. She's dead!"

"Actually," Annabeth said quietly, "it's very possible she isn't."

I stared at her. Derick didn't seem all too surprised.

"What?" I asked.

"The first time we met, when she ran after Apollo," she said tentatively, "that was the first time Iapetus did anything regarding her. At the time, she had a nose bleed. And she was bleeding Ichor, the blood of immortals and gods."

It was too much to ask for, but if Annabeth was saying this, then it had to be at least somewhat reasonable.

"Then we have to find her," I said, "At least look for her."

"I'll get Johnny," Grover said.

Once Johnny came around, we got down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon without falling. How we all did that with me rushing them, I'm not sure. We searched for hours, but we couldn't see any sign of Avalon. We shouted her name, but no answer came.


	11. Ozone and Lightning: Avalon Gaery

Chapter Eleven: Avalon Gaery

I laid on my back, wishing the pain would end.

I could feel how each of my limbs stuck out at odd angles. My ribs were all shattered. One of my ankles was twisted backwards. There were multiple gashes on me from the drop with the hydra biting and spitting at me. Even my neck was snapped in two places.

And yet, I was still alive.

I was still able to think. I could barely breath without immense pain and only one side came up, but I could still breath. My eyes weren't opening, so I couldn't see anything, but I could definitely still feel. I didn't have enough energy to even pick up my finger, much less open my eyes, but I really didn't want to either way. For one thing, I didn't want to see the golden Ichor surrounding me. For another, I didn't want to see my own mutilated body. And, as yet another, I knew that this was one medical case I wouldn't be able to look at and stay conscious for. Maybe my friends would find me and help me. Maybe some miracle from my father would come in the form of some new magic healing property I could have.

Almost as if in answer to my prayers, I heard footsteps running my way. I tried moving my hand as some signal to exactly where I was, but my arm wouldn't respond. Stopping me from causing myself anymore pain, a hand was put on my hand and another on my forehead. Almost immediately, I felt the bones in my arm and neck fixing themselves. Whoever it was began speaking in panicked Chinese. I forced my eyes to open.

When I managed to focus on the guy hovering over me, I saw blue eyes and blonde hair. The face was familiar. The face was my father's. He seemed a bit relived that I had opened my eyes. In fact he was so happy, he kissed my forehead. A weird tingle spread over my body, momentarily blocking out the pain everywhere I could feel.

When he straightened up again, he saw a flicker of a smile cross my face before I glanced at the rest of my body. It looked a lot worse than it felt, and my fear mounted. I made a gurgling sound in the back of my throat as I thought about what would happen next. Would I ever recover?

"Shh, shh," my dad said, stroking my hair comfortingly, "You'll be fine. Don't worry."

I swallowed roughly, a tremor running through my body.

"Don't stress yourself," Apollo said gently.

My vision blurred, but I fought the feeling. I _wasn't _going to die.

"The others..." I croaked, "they'll – they'll punish you for this... Won't they?"

To my surprise, he actually laughed. "You're lying here, with every bone in your body broken, and you're asking how _I _will survive on Olympus?"

I managed to smile, but I coughed, spitting up golden Ichor. When I finished, my eyes closed of their own accord. My father's laughing stopped immediately.

"Just hang in there. My sister'll be here soon." His voice sounded distant as I lost consciousness.

I dreamed that I was standing on a hill, looking down into a valley with a small town in it. There was a long river wrapping around part of the town, and a flat field hugged the hills opposite of me. A cluster of temples were laid out like constellations in the sky. It would've been a pretty sight, had there not been a massive, thirty foot giant and a whole entire army of monsters fighting what looked like Roman legionaries.

The giant had green, scaly, dragon legs and what seemed like snakes in his hair. The monsters ranged from Cyclopes to centaurs to other unspeakable _things. _Fires were blazing on the Roman-looking houses. Children and their parents were working frantically to douse the flames or were running away from the monsters. There was a bellow of rage. I caught one sentence, "I will crush you, son of Neptune!"

I sat bolt upright in the bed I was in, shaking as I grabbed the closest thing to my left hand. Whatever it was that I grabbed was warm and definitely an arm. Lights danced in front of my eyes, but I still looked around in alarm. Nightmares always had that effect on me. I remember a time when I woke up screaming – on Christmas.

"There – there was Polybotes, and Camp Jupiter, and – and-" I spewed out.

"Whoa, there," the person next me said, "You just had a major – and when I say major, I mean _major _– accident, involving a hydra, a cliff, and falling several thousand feet."

I released the girl's arm and put my head in my hands, barely taking in a word that she was saying. "It was so _wrong,_" I whispered, "There was mass chaos, everywhere..."

She rubbed my back. "I know how dreams can be. Scary sometimes, right?"

I nodded my head.

"I heard it can be even worse for you, but who's Polybotes? And what's Camp Jupiter?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but the words stuck in my throat. I barely even knew the answer myself, and it seemed as if something was forcing me to not explain. Some old magic or something. I looked the girl in the face.

She wore punk styled clothes, which matched her spiky, jet-black hair. Her eyes were electric blue. On her head was a silver circlet, which clashed with the rest of her outfit. I blinked, swearing that if Johnny had a sister anywhere, she was right in front of me.

"Thalia Grace," I said, "Daughter of Ju- Zeus. Hunter and First Lieutenant of Artemis."

She seemed a bit surprised, but nodded. "How'd you know?"

"There's a few-"

I closed my eyes, breathing in sharply as an image came to me. It was the same thing that had happened at the Skybridge.

_Three kids and a satyr were attempting to fight off several _venti, _also known as storm spirits. Leo Valdaz, son of Hephaestus, was thrown over to one of the sides of the canyon. Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, flipped his coin and destroyed two of the storm spirits. Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite, was tossed over the edge of the canyon while the satyr, Gleeson Hedge, retrieved Leo. Jason jumped over the edge and caught Piper right before she could die, using the wind currents around him to stop his fall._

My eyes snapped open. I had grabbed Thalia's arm again and I kept my hand there, even though she was trying to pry my fingers off of her.

"Avalon, let go of me," she ordered.

"Grace," I whimpered, "His name-"

The door opened and my father rushed into the room. Him being there calmed me down enough for Thalia to free herself from me. She stepped back as Apollo took her place.

"Shh," he said gently, "It's alright. Try not talking about it, you'll only make things worse."

I swallowed roughly. "It was so frightening-"

"Don't talk about it," he repeated, "You can't talk about it with others around."

I nodded. "Where am I?"

"You're on Olympus," Dad said.

"N-new York, Olympus?" I stammered.

He nodded. "Just try ignoring it."

I guess I looked several shades paler, because Thalia asked, "Are you alright?"

I smiled shakily. "Acrophobia."

She nodded. "That, I can understand."

"Annabeth said you would," I remembered, "But I guess you're wondering why I-"

"Avalon," Apollo chided, "No one else should know about that."

"Right," I mumbled, "Nothing about those kinds of things."

The door opened and a girl younger than me came in. She had auburn hair and silver eyes. Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt. She put a hand on her brother's shoulder.

"Brother, be careful," she said, "You know Zeus does not understand any of what is happening."

Apollo sighed and put his hands down. "Artemis, Thalia, please, for just a moment, leave my daughter and I alone."

"Brother-" Artemis began.

"I know, Artemis," he said, "I know."

Thalia seemed curious, though either because of Apollo not usually being in this kind of mood or because she was wondering what he wanted to tell me, I didn't know. The two of them left. I thought I saw Hermes and Athena arguing over something and the place smelled eerily of ozone.

"They're all mad at you," I said bluntly.

"They'll get over it," he promised, "But what did you see?"

"Er, aren't we supposed to not-" I began.

"It's different when you're talking to the God of Prophecy," he said, "What did you see?"

I was still hesitant. One word got to me that made the answer a clear no: Iapetus. When I didn't say anything, my father's expression became pained.

"You think it would be risky with Iapetus listening to every word you say?" he asked.

I nodded my head. "I might be able to write it down-" I began.

"No," Apollo said sternly, "Whatever you think is important enough to not say or else he will find out, do not write it on paper. If it gets into the wrong hands, who knows what will happen?"

I nodded. "Can I maybe ask a few questions without giving everything away?"

At that my father lightened up enough to give me a smile and ruffle my hair.

"If you think you can ask questions about the parts that aren't all too important," he said.

"Thalia has a brother," I said simply.

His smile lessened a bit, but my father nodded. "She still remembers him a bit. He had been... kidnapped, in a sense, and that's what set Thalia off on running away from home."

"And Johnny is both their half-brother?"

"Yes."

I looked over at the door. "The gods aren't happy, are they?"

My dad sighed. "Zeus doesn't understand that you're a special case, he doesn't see how you could be an immortal like us."

"Because only he can give that power to people."

"Yes."

"Have you tried explaining about Iapetus?"

"Yes."

"And Min- Athena isn't listening either?"

"No, she isn't, though rather for other reasons."

"Other reasons?"

"I cannot tell you about that, Avalon."

I stared at him for a moment. Then I started to get out of the bed, but my dad stopped me.

"Avalon, you _have_ to rest. You can't be up and running around when you just recovered."

"If you haven't noticed already, I hate it when people are overprotective of me. Secondly, I can't just sit around waiting for Zeus and the others to either declare war on each other or on my father."

My dad smiled faintly. "Avalon, they aren't going to declare war on each other-"

"Then what is it? I know you wouldn't be acting this way if it wasn't drastic."

His smile faltered. "The others are worried about you being able to see the future," he admitted, "They think it is... risky to keep you around with your gift of prophecy."

I felt the color flood from my face. I knew exactly what he meant. He meant that they were already deciding which way was the best to kill me. They attempted to talk about the same thing with Percy's life as well, but he still lived. Bacchus – Dionysus rather – on several occasions, said that he wouldn't mind burning Percy from the inside out. What if they tried that on me? I was immortal. They probably wouldn't be able to kill me forever. However, they could send me to eternal punishment, like they did to the titans. The idea made we wince. Apollo sat back, looking at me as if he knew what I was thinking and wanted to get my mind off of the gruesome topic.

"I have to say, though," he said, "none of us _have_ ever seen anything like your case before. Zeus made several heroes into a god, and they all share the same characteristics as you. But Zeus never even met you before, much less made you into a god-"

"I'm sure that it was Iapetus," I blurted out, "Titan of Mortality."

I saw his jaw clench. "Are you sure he took away your mortality?"

"That is sort of the one thing I never, _ever _wanted to happen. I don't want to live passed my mother or my friends. And Iapetus knew that, though for how long, I have no idea."

I tried to get out of the bed again. Apollo stopped me again.

"Even immortals have their times of weakness, Avalon," he warned, "Are you sure you can handle even walking?"

I nodded my head. Reluctantly, he let me stand up. I could tell that my father had helped personally with helping me recover based on how I barely felt lightheaded when my feet touched the ground. It was either that, or being immortal like the gods meant that I healed faster than a mortal body, as well as kept me alive when I decided to jump off a cliff to save my friends. I wiggled my toes, making sure I had complete control over my body.

I walked out of the room. The gods immediately stopped arguing, turning to look at Apollo and I. I saw Mercury (you might know him as Hermes), Minerva (a.k.a. Athena), Neptune (or Poseidon, take your pick), Diana (Artemis), and even Vulcan (Hephaestus). Artemis and Hermes were looking at me as if they weren't sure what should be done about me, but Athena, Poseidon, and Hephaestus – they looked like the verdict had already been made. Athena glared at Apollo.

"You are not allowed to interfere with demigods, Apollo," she said, "You have broken one of the Ancient Laws."

"For the last time," my father growled, and I had a feeling this was a topic he had tried explaining multiple times, "she isn't just a demigod. She is-"

"Only Zeus can give that power to a mortal," Athena said, "Zeus has never seen this half-blood."

"He has told you about Iapetus, hasn't he?" I asked.

They all turned their eyes to me.

"Your father has told us a very farfetched story about Iapetus possibly being able to steal your mortality from his prison in Tartarus," Poseidon said.

"And none of you believe him?" I continued.

"After the Titan War," Hephaestus told me, "it has become apparent that none of the titans would even dare show an appearance of them gaining power after what they attempted to do last year."

I nodded. "I can see your point," I admitted, "The damages of Typhon, Oceanus, Kronos, and the other titans was a lot."

I began walking down the hall, past the other gods and to the door. Each step made slight pain creep up my legs, but I continued anyways. When no one was following me, I turned and waved at the door.

"Perhaps this is a matter all the gods should be considering and not just you six," I said.

Athena scowled. "You should not be so arrogant, Avalon Gaery," she advised, "Some gods may be able to put up with you, but most will more than likely be tempted to burn you from the inside out."

"I know," I said, "I've been told that I was wanted dead plenty of times already."

She was about say another clever comment, but the door opened again. The guy who stepped into the room had grey hair and stormy blue eyes. He had a beard and his whole entire presence seemed to make the ozone smell a lot stronger than it had been. I stepped away from the King of the Gods.

"Jupiter," I said curtly, though I looked at him a bit apprehensively.

The Lord of the Skies only glared at me. He turned towards the other gods. "Come with me. There are a few..." Disdainfully, he looked at me. "_problems_ we need to discuss."

I knew I was a bit of a troubled child, but hearing _Zeus _say that, after trying to kill my friends on the flight to Rome, of course... let's just say that I wasn't any friendlier with him than I was before. There was a bit of shouting and thunder on the way to the throne room.

I never knew that the gods were ten feet tall when sitting in their thrones, but it was true. Zeus sat in a platinum throne with lightning designs etched into it. Poseidon's throne looked like a deep-sea fishing chair made out of greyish green marble. There were rungs in the throne that held his trident, which buzzed with power. Athena sat in a silver throne with a crown of violets above it. Hephaestus sat in a huge, mechanical La-Z-Boy chair with silver and bronze gears whirring around. My father's chair was golden with magical inscriptions on it. Twenty one arrows made the rays of a sun disk that was above his throne. The backrest was in the shape of a lyre. There were a few other gods in the room as well, but it wasn't a full house. The gods Mars, Bacchus, Pluto, Arcus, and Somnia were also nearby, although some of them looked a bit bored. They greeted each other by their Greek names, though, so it went a bit more like this: Ares, Dionysus, Hades, Iris, and Morpheus. Even just this small amount of gods in one place made the hair on the back of my neck raise. I waited for one of them to say something.

"Oh, can we just kill her already?" Dionysus asked.

Apollo clenched his hands into fists. "No."

"She is a liability," Athena said, "Though the story you made was awfully creative, even for you, Apollo, it is highly unlikely-"

"Highly unlikely, yet still possible," Hermes said, "If the whole attack Kronos planned _was _only a plan A, and there was a plan B, it would be likely that some titans managed to keep there strength quite high."

"Iapetus still wouldn't have the power to make someone immortal," Hephaestus argued, "It wouldn't be possible."

"Unless a few gods were helping," I agreed.

Morpheus sat up straighter. "Is that an accusation?" he wondered.

"No, it's only a thought that came to mind," I said quickly, "But it is possible. Trust me, all that my father has said is true."

"And just how are we supposed to trust you?" Zeus thundered. And I mean that literally. I felt as if thunder was coursing through my veins. Still, that didn't make me think or react any slower.

I took out my knife and sliced my palm open.

At first, the gods thought I was trying to attack them or something. Zeus summoned his lightning bolt. Poseidon grasped his trident. Several of the gods stood up. By the time I put my knife away and held up my cut hand, Ichor was dripping down my wrist. They all stopped short. For a while, the whole throne room was still.

The first person to move was Hades, who stood up, shrinking down to my size, and walked over to me. Roughly, he seized my hand to get a better look at the golden blood running down my arm. My hands tingled with the energy from the Lord of the Dead, twitching every now and then. Releasing my hand, he closed his eyes. I rubbed the Ichor off of my palm and onto my jeans, my cut completely healed.

"When did this happen?" he demanded.

"A week or two ago," I told him, "I had a nose bleed, and I saw Ichor instead of regular blood. Moments later, I heard Iapetus speaking to me inside my head."

"Speaking to you inside your head?" Morpheus questioned, "Are you sure it wasn't just a dream?"

"She's crazy, Morpheus," Dionysus said, "but not that crazy."

"Did you tell _anyone _else?" Hades asked. He said it calmly enough, but I had a feeling he was really, really angry.

"Annabeth knew," I said.

Athena called us back to attention. "We are getting sidetracked, Lord Hades. Perhaps we will lower the charges on Apollo, but there is another matter to be discussed."

As Hades stalked back to his throne, I felt queasy. What were they thinking of doing?

Dionysus raised his hand. "I'm all for immortal punishment."

Ares grunted in what I thought was approval. Morpheus regarded me quizzically, his fingers trilling on his throne. Although all the gods had sat down, Poseidon still held his trident. Zeus looked as if he knew which way he wanted this to go: Brutal death, or the worst punishment possible.

Wait. _The worst punishment possible. _To me, living forever was immortal punishment, and it was the worst.

"Let me continue being an immortal," I said, "That is my least favorite punishment I can think of."

Hermes looked at me curiously. "You do not wish to be immortal?"

I shook my head frantically. "No, not at all. I'd rather live with my mother and my friends and go through the same things a regular person usually goes through."

Ares snorted. "Doesn't sound like a punishment to me."

"More monsters are drawn to me, more powerful monsters are drawn to me," I said, "If I'm allowed to live, anyone near me is in danger. Just knowing that will surely make me go mad."

"How would this ensure that you don't tell anyone about the future, though?" Athena said.

"My brother could watch over that easily enough," Artemis said.

"And if he fails to do so?"

"Look," I interrupted, looking at Poseidon, "I'd love to talk about this more, but there are people that I know that are in danger. One of them is Percy. I'm guessing none of you were able to see that happening either?"

Poseidon stood up angrily, his trident glowing. "Where is Percy?"

"That's exactly what I'm trying to find out," I said, looking at his three pronged spear apprehensively, "And, no offense, Father, but I don't think you should have the duty of keeping me in line. If anyone should, it should be Ju- Zeus. Anyone who is told something about the future by me may be smitten down by any way of his choosing."


	12. Simple Pseudonyms: Derick Yuley

Chapter Twelve: Derick Yuley

I had never seen Dominic so distraught.

After a day and a half of searching for Avalon, Dominic began pacing back and forth, hugging himself as if that was the only way to keep himself together. He never cried after that first few minutes, but he seemed fragile, like he would break at any moment. When you talked to him, he would look at you as if he didn't know you were there.

I guess he had a reason to be so freaked out. Although nothing was made official, Avalon and Dominic were practically boyfriend and girlfriend. They hung out with each other practically every moment of every day. They cared about each other a lot more than any regular person would.

I walked up to him, almost afraid of what I'd see in his eyes. I stopped him pacing.

"Hey, man..." I stopped when he glared at me. For the first time in thirty six hours, Dominic seemed a bit more alive.

"We can't stop looking for her," he seethed, trembling, "She has to be around here somewhere."

I remembered another time he was like this. He always had such confidence in things, and that always leaked into his passion. It was hard to tell him what he couldn't see. I felt like I was crushing his hopes and dreams. Well, I was, but I thought quickly for a way to put it lightly.

There was no way to put this lightly.

For once, I, Derick Yuley, was at a loss for words. I looked away from him. Dominic was still trembling out of rage. He pushed passed me. I turned around.

"Dominic," I said, and the words came tumbling out of my mouth faster than I could stop them, "look, I'm sorry I've been a horrible brother over the years, I'm sorry I tried to stop you from saving her, I'm sorry I was never, _ever _there for you. I shouldn't've ran away. I shouldn't've always made fun of you. But being angry won't do anything to help Avalon."

Dominic turned around and looked me in the eye with such loathing that I knew I had said the wrong thing.

"It has to be _all _about you, doesn't it?" he barked, "I'm not mad at you, I'm mad about the idea of stopping the search for Avalon!"

His face bright red, he stalked off. Johnny hesitantly walked up to me.

"He'll get over it," he said, "He's just in shock."

"Not a cool pun, John-John," I muttered.

He frowned, and then got what I was thinking about.

"Oh, man, I didn't mean it like that."

"Yeah, sure," I sighed, sitting down and putting my head in my hands, "He hates me. I mean, he's hated me for quite some time, but now he _really _hates."

Johnny sat down next to me. By the way sparks flew when his hands touched the rock, I could tell he was just as on edge and troubled as I was.

"Dominic doesn't hate you."

"He hasn't called me his brother in over three months."

"He's going through a tough time. He'll get over it."

"Do you really think that?"

Johnny didn't reply.

"Avalon and him were practically boyfriend and girlfriend. If anything, she was a better sibling to him than I was. And now that she's gone, and possibly hurt..."

"We'll find her. Either that or she'll find us."

I stared at the other side of the canyon blankly. For a while, we were both silent.

Abruptly, I said, "Do you remember when I ran away?"

Confused and uncomfortable, Johnny nodded his head.

"Back at the hotel, he told me about what happened to him at the time."

Johnny paled. "He... he told about the guy with golden eyes."

"He told me _all _about him. Running away from the house so Mom wouldn't get hurt, running into Aunty Em's store and seeing the monsters." I shivered at the thought. "He told me about how scared he had been and how they nearly found him. He watched as they marched to war. He watched as the guy with golden eyes froze a giant and then another kid, the painful expressions on their faces. And then we got to Camp Half-Blood and he made the connection with the golden eyes and Kronos, Lord of the Titans." I looked at him in anguish. "He had been _that _close to becoming one of them, or worse, _dead. _And I _still _fought with him about me having the worse end of things. Maybe, if I had just been there for him... Maybe we'd be friends still, maybe we wouldn't be fighting the way we do, maybe he wouldn't be as angry as he is now."

Johnny looked me in the eyes. "Don't think like that. It isn't all your fault. What you said might be true, but you shouldn't be so focused on the past. You should look ahead, try to make him see you can change or something."

"Yeah, I guess I could do that."

It felt weird, getting advice from my friends in situations such as these. I knew that they're supposed to be there for me, like Johnny was even when he found out he had cancer, but I guess that all the people I surrounded myself with just weren't real friends. If I had said anything about this to anyone I usually hung out with, they'd probably make fun of me, maybe give me the slushy deluxe of the century. It was like wolves with them: Any sign of weakness, and you're out.

But how could I convince my brother that I wasn't as horrible as I used to be?

Finding Avalon would be a start, but definitely not an ending. Sticking up for him more, well, it might work, but when would that come into play?

"That factory," I said, "Could it be possible that the monsters there took Avalon?"

"It's possible," he said. Johnny stood up, as if the prospect gave him an idea, "Let's tell the others. I'll get Dominic."

Johnny went to where Dominic was walking around. I had a feeling he was going to try getting my brother to forgive me while telling him about my hunch. It wasn't going to end well. I shook my head, knowing that Johnny wouldn't let me stop him from trying, and walked the other way.

I found Annabeth crying on Grover's shoulder. I was surprised, usually she was the strong point in our group; she always helped us get our plans finished or get us all out of trouble.

"It's okay, Annabeth," Grover said, patting her back, "We'll find them both."

Oh, of course. Her boyfriend disappears in the middle of a fight – just like Avalon. The two circumstances were probably identical for her. I felt a bit awkward and didn't exactly want to be a part in this, but I knew that that was the kind of thing my "friends" would do back home. And so I walked over to the two of them.

"And... if we... don't find them?" Annabeth sobbed.

"There won't be an if," I said.

The two of them looked at me. Annabeth's eyes were all red and puffy. Grover's shirt was soaked.

"Avalon has a knack at finding Dominic and her friends again," I continued, "If we don't find her, she'll find us. And once she finds us, we have an even better chance at finding Percy."

"You really think that?" Annabeth asked.

I nodded. "One time, she got herself lost in the upper part of Pennsylvania. The next day, Avalon came strolling up to the door of my house, looking for Dominic. She was completely fine; she wasn't dehydrated, starving, or even sunburned. Avalon's also immortal, so she had to have survived that fall. And I have an idea of where she is."

Both of them seemed surprised, but at this point, it seemed as if they'd take anything.

"I saw a factory when we were looking around at the Skybridge. Johnny and Dom saw it, too. I swear there were monsters creeping around that place. They might've gotten to Avalon before we did."

Grover shivered. "If they have, I'd hate to be Avalon."

We were all thankful that it was night. With it being dark, none of the monsters saw us. Then again, that didn't mean that they didn't hear us or smell us. We were trying to go as quietly as possible to the doors of the factory, which were guarded by several hellhounds. Trying not to trip over rocks with the already suspicious herd of hellhounds, we circled around them. There was still one right in front of the door, though.

"There might be a back door," I said hopefully.

"Shh!" everyone said.

One of the hellhounds looked in our direction. We stopped walking. Then the mutant dog growled and Johnny spat out a curse in Greek. We bolted as the hellhound stepped towards us, all of us reaching for our swords. Dominic managed to slice one in half and make it disintegrate in a shower of gold before it could pounce on us. Johnny pointed at the hellhound guarding the door and a flash of lightning jumped from his fingers to the giant mastiff. Sirens started wailing as we slammed into the doors. Yanking them open, we ran inside.

We could hear feet pounding through the hall nearby. I saw a clipboard on the wall that read: NEW RECRUITES ARE TO COME ON THURSDAY. We had barely managed to regain our breath by the time a small battalion of kids our age, maybe a little younger, had rounded the corner. They had swords, javelins, and weighted nets all prepared for us. But to their surprise, I shouted at them first.

"Stop! We come in peace!" I lied, "We're the new recruits. Nice safety system."

My friends all looked at me as if I was crazy, which I probably was, but I walked forward, sheathing my blade on the way.

"Sorry for the rude awakening," I said, "The names Earl. Mr. Lightning Hand's name is Peter. Here is my brother, Grant. This lovely lady is Jillian. And here's Mason." I pointed at Grover.

No one sheathed their weapons for what seemed like forever. Then one of the guys from the front lines came forwards and looked me in the eyes. His eyes were black and his hair was brown. The guy slowly looked from me to my friends, soaking in our faces. I got the impression that this demigod was in charge around here, and whatever he said goes. If he said to kill us, no one would argue. Same with if he let us live.

"You're late," he growled, "but I'll pardon you this time. You can call me Reno." The guy looked over his shoulder. "Someone go and turn off the siren!"

Everyone sheathed their blades while a small kid went running back down the hall. Reno looked at Johnny.

"He's a son of Zeus?" he asked.

"Peter's father is Zeus," I answered, "Grant and I are sons of Hermes. Jillian is a daughter of Athena. Mason is... undetermined."

A girl about the age of sixteen came up to us as the alarms died away. "Undetermined?" she repeated, "Hmm. We should go back to the stadium, show them where everything is."

"Yes, I suppose we should, Ally." Reno looked me in the eyes again, but addressed his battalion. "Everyone, put your armour away and meet back at the stadium."

His small army of demigods went back through the hallway. Ally and Reno stayed behind.

"How long have you been lost in the Canyon?" Reno asked.

"We weren't lost," Johnny said. He continued when they raised their eyebrows. "We had another person in our group. A hydra attacked and she pushed herself and the monster off of a cliff."

Reno nodded as if he were sorry, but he didn't look sorry.

"My sincerest regrets," Ally said, "Why don't we show you around?"

"That'll be perfect," Dominic said, and the way he said it wasn't friendly at all. The military generals lead the way down the hall as if they didn't notice anything about it.

They told us that the place was practically a whole bunch of grids. Living in New York, I was used to what other people would call mazes. Other than that, I could usually walk down a random path and find my way to a place I was thinking of on accident. When we stopped walking, Reno pointed to a door that was heavily locked. I managed to keep from drooling over the high-security locks and kept my hands in my pockets.

"That door is off limits," Reno said strictly, "It leads to level four, where we keep any prisoners. As well as our mistress's prize possession."

"Prisoners?" Annabeth asked.

"The most recent one we found was about a week or so ago."

That got my attention. A week ago. That was when Percy had gotten kidnapped by those hellhounds. I could practically see the wheels turning in Annabeth's head as she thought out every possible way of getting to her boyfriend.

"Going anywhere near here except when passing by the halls can be punishable by death, so we'd prefer if you didn't go near here."

We went through more halls while Ally and Reno talked, but I didn't listen much. When we made it to the stadium, we saw sever rows of other demigods. We sat down and listened to Reno talking on a stage.

I barely listened, as usual. There was something about roots and grease. War was a constant topic, but at the time, I was nearly asleep.

Dominic nudged me when we were all finished. I stood up with him and we marched down another hall and to a dorm of our own. Grover fell into one of the chairs and rubbed his eyes. Dominic sat down on another bed, cross-legged, but didn't seem tired at all. Johnny sat down next to him. I crashed on the other bed, way too tired to even fight my eyes from closing.


	13. Military Grade Locks: Dominic Yuley

Chapter Thirteen: Dominic Yuley

Annabeth paced in front of Johnny and I. I couldn't sleep with the knowledge of Percy coming through here in my mind. Derick was already asleep. Looking at him, I felt a bit guilty for yelling at him. He was only trying to help. He had gotten us here, _and _gotten us out of a sword fight that would've been the end of us.

"We need to go through that door," Annabeth decided, "The one that leads to level four."

"What about Avalon?" I asked immediately.

That got Annabeth to stop pacing. "She probably wants us to continue looking for Percy. That _was _the quest."

I sighed, remembering Avalon's favorite quote. "The show must go on."

"Hollywood?" Annabeth asked.

"Avalon's favorite quote," I explained, "But yeah, I guess we need to go through that door."

Johnny looked at the two of us. "There are a whole bunch of locks on that door."

Derick stirred slightly, as if he could hear the talk about locks in his sleep.

"Derick can pick any lock known to man," I said.

"Military grade, too?" Johnny asked, "Unless he's been practicing, I don't know if he'll be able to get through those locks."

"Last year he nearly got arrested breaking into a general's room," I said, "And that was _after _he got passed all the military personnel. He can do it."

Grover bleated uncomfortably. "Are you all forgetting about the demigods? How are we going to get passed _them?_"

I looked at my watch. "I bet everyone's starting to go to bed. Not everyone is going to be walking around the halls."

"And the people who are?" Grover asked.

"They're going to find out about us sooner or later," I said, "I'd rather not spend any extra time walking around here."

I picked up one of the pillows behind me and threw it at Derick. He immediately sat bolt upright, his eyes wide. I looked at him curiously.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"Weird dream," he muttered, "I was at the Olympian counsel. Avalon was there."

"Avalon was there?" I said.

"Yeah," he said, "She was making a deal with Zeus. And a whole bunch of the gods were there."

"Twelve?" Annabeth asked.

"No," Derick said, "Maybe ten, but I think Morpheus was there."

"Morpheus?" Johnny questioned, "Who's that?"

"God of dreams," Annabeth explained, "But why would so many gods go to Mount Olympus? They barely ever go up there unless it's an emergency."

"Maybe it has to deal with Avalon's deal," Derick mused, "But she's definitely alive. And I doubt her father is going to just let her be killed by the other gods. She's in good hands." He looked at me and smiled just a tiny bit. It was easy to tell he was nervous as well as happy.

"If she's really on Mount Olympus," I said, "she'll find us. Derick, do you think you can get us through that door they said was off-limits."

His smile grew. "Can I? Oh, I definitely can. I have, like, ten bobby pins already."

"Is that all you need?" Johnny asked.

"Yes." Derick sat up straighter. I knew he had and would always prided himself on being the best lock-picker known to mankind.

"Then let's go," I said.

"Now?" Grover said, "What if they see us?"

"They have a designated time for them to go to bed," I told him, pointing to a warning that read, ALL PERSONNEL ARE TO BE IN DORMS BY 7 O'CLOCK. HARPIES ON WATCH.

"Okay," Grover sighed, "Let's go into the harpy infested halls of this demigod army."

Walking through the halls was pretty stressful. We heard pretty much nothing, but whenever any of our shoes squeaked on the marble floor, we'd all stop to make sure no one heard. Every now and then, a bird/lady hybrid thing would come pretty close to us, but we'd always manage to get away. We were almost to the door when we heard another harpy coming nearby and stopped.

"Do you smell that?"

"Smell what?"

"Demigods. In the halls."

"Yeah, right. There hasn't been a single demigod out in these halls at this time for months. And plus, your nose has been all whacked up recently."

"Has not!"

"Has too!"

The voices of the harpies receded down the hall.

"That was pure luck," Grover whispered, "Normal harpies would never give up the chance to eat something."

"Come on," Johnny said anyways, "The door is right around this corner."

Our feet seemed to echo loudly on the floor as we inched towards the heavily locked door. When we got to the door, Derick knelt down and put a bobby pin in one of the locks. Everyone was antsy. After a few minutes, Annabeth said, "How long is this going to take?"

"Dude, these things are military grade, probably even better," Derick countered, "You try and crack these locks in less than two minutes."

"Don't mind if I do," I said, kneeling down and putting a bobby pin in one of the other locks.

"Where'd you get that?" Derick wondered.

"Your pocket," I replied slyly.

"Hmm," he said, "You're getting better at pickpocketing."

I wasn't sure if Derick was just saying that to be nice, but it was the thought that counts, right? I continued picking the lock with a small smile on my face.

"We really need to hurry," Grover said, "Maybe I can play something on my reed pipes and open some of them."

"Don't even try," Derick advised, "I think these locks are magically protected from things like that. You start doing magic, these sirens will start ringing, the hall would flood with demigods, et cetera, et cetera."

"How do you know?" I said carefully. Last thing I knew, I was pretty smart compared to Derick.

"You don't?" he snickered, "These things are practically _shaking, _Dom."

I looked back at my lock. It was shaking a bit. There was some sort of energy in it, like the kind that was in the Hecate cabin's walls. Derick's lock clicked open and dropped into his palm. He pocketed it and started on another one.

"One down," he muttered, "Five more to go."

My bobby pin snapped. I cursed in Ancient Greek while I brushed the broken bobby pin out of the keyhole. I pulled another one out and started again.

"Hey! You five! What do you think you're doing?"

I forced myself not to look and to continue with my task of getting these locks undone.

"Just continue with this," Annabeth said, "We'll take care of them."

There was more than one? Go figure. They were probably doing their rounds or something. How could I have not thought of that? They marched over to the soldiers with their hands on the grips of their swords.

"Dom," Derick said, "Just focus on the lock. Really focus on it."

I didn't get why he was saying that. I was pretty focused on getting this thing unlocked.

"Dominic, we're sons of Hermes," he reminded me, seeing my expression, "We have his gift at unlocking things. If you focus enough, the lock will be a bit easier."

I tried "focusing" on the lock a bit more, but nothing happened. I thought about the bobby pin twisting and the lock opening, but no dice. When I heard the first clash of metal against metal, my hand slipped and the lock turned. The piece of metal fell to the ground.

"I just cracked a military grade lock," I muttered in astonishment.

"With magic on it," Derick said. Was that pride in his voice? His second lock fell to the ground as the sirens above us wailed.

"Well, now we only have three more to go," I said. I started to put my bobby pin into another lock, but turned when I heard feet pattering on the ground to my left. I immediately grabbed my sword and stood up.

"Continue picking the locks," I told my brother, looking Reno in the eyes.

"What's the meaning of this, Grant?" Reno asked, "Why are you doing this?"

I figured that he'd probably find out soon enough about who we really were, so I gave him a bit of slack.

"Does the name Percy Jackson mean anything to you?" I asked.

Reno scowled and twirled his sword in his hand. "Yeah. The jerk attacked my father and killed Kronos."

"It seems as though the last prisoner you've had was him," I told him, "We were sent on a quest to find him. And my name isn't Grant."

"And mine isn't Reno," he replied, then he tried stabbing at my chest.

I deflected his sword and attempted to swing at him. Apparently, he was pretty good at dodging things, too. He twirled around and swung at my back. I managed to duck in time for him to only slice off the tips of my hair. I rammed the butt of my sword into Reno's knee mercilessly. I still hadn't forgotten that look on his face when Johnny had told him about Avalon. He hadn't cared at all.

Pain flaring in his eyes, he crumpled to the ground. He swung at me when I stepped backwards, but missed. Reno stood up, his one leg shaking slightly. I remembered the disarm move Percy had showed Derick and I before he had gone missing. I did have the shorter sword...

Reno stabbed at my shoulder. I managed to deflect it, but this guy had a fighting style that was _way _different compared to what was taught at camp. I knew I needed to get that sword, of which was a different variety than I had ever seen, out of his hands. Maybe the demigods at this campsite learned a bit more than Greek training. Maybe it was a bit of modern day sword fighting skills put into his Greek training. With a small pang of surprise, I realized he attacked a lot like Avalon said she would if she had to use a longer blade.

I got up closer to Reno. He tried to force me back, but my in-born battle instincts put me into overdrive, swatting away his sword faster and faster the closer I got to him. After a while, I began trying to get to the handle of his sword. He looked a bit panicked, but tried his best to remain composed as I twisted his sword out his hand. He made a desperate attempt to grab it back off the floor, but I stuck the tip of my sword under his chin.

"Don't even think about it," I snarled.

Reno closed his eyes. "Make it quick."

At first, I didn't get it. But within a few seconds, I knew he was talking about me killing him. I was shocked he'd think about me doing something like that.

"I'm done!" Derick shouted, "Guys, come on! The door's open!"

I sprinted for my brother. Annabeth, Grover, and Johnny were finishing up with their fights and running over, too. I heard the scrape of metal against rock and knew Reno was coming at me again. I barely had enough time to ready my weapon before my arm seared with pain. I stumbled and cried out. Derick drew his sword and rushed to my side as I turned around and deflected a blow that would've killed me. My arm gave way and Derick pushed me behind himself. He hacked at Reno as fiercely as possible. Reno backed away almost just as fast. I wasn't surprised that he was afraid of Derick. I mean, I would be afraid if I saw six feet and three inches of pure muscles running at me with a sword in their hand, looking at me as if they didn't mind the thought of murder.

Finally, Derick stabbed Reno's thigh and he crumpled to the ground, clutching his leg. Derick ran back to us and pushed me through the doorway. When the door closed, everyone leaned against the door, gasping for breath.

"Thanks, bro," I said, nudging Derick in the ribs, "You saved my life."


	14. The Authority of Gods: Avalon Gaery

Chapter Fourteen: Avalon Gaery

I was excused from the meeting after my offer was given. And a long silence. And my father looking at me as if I was crazy. Which I probably was.

Thalia found me sitting at a bench outside of the Hall of the Gods about twenty minutes later, frozen in the exact same position as I had been when I had sat down. I must've had a pretty messed up look on my face, because she looked a bit sheepish when she sat down. I barely even looked at her.

"So you're an Immortal?" she asked.

"I wasn't born one," I mumbled.

Thalia furrowed her brows. "Lady Artemis has never seen you before. Nor has my father."

I opened my mouth to explain, but thunder rumbled from the building behind us, sending sparks up my spine. My teeth clattering, I gripped the bench. I really needed to work on keeping my mouth shut. Thalia's clothing was steaming.

"I'll take that as an, 'I'll tell you later,'" she said.

I put my head in my hands. What had I agreed to? With my big mouth, I wouldn't be surprised if five people died in one day just because of me. Thalia rubbed my back, but that only made me feel worse. I had a feeling that we would be around each other a bit more frequently than usual, and that made me feel as if I had to keep my mouth shut even more tightly than if I was in a den full of hungry wolves, my silence being the only thing keeping me alive.

"I've never seen Apollo so tense," Thalia said.

"He's worried about what the others are going to say," I explained, a bit glad about the change in subject, "They were attacking him earlier, too, so there was a lot on his mind."

"Even so," she said, "Apollo is usually a lot more enthusiastic. Right now, he's more... disciplined."

I exhaled. There were probably several ways I could answer her, but I didn't want to risk it.

"Hades feels cheated," I blurted out instead.

She raised an eyebrow. "Hades is in there?"

I nodded uncertainly. "Poseidon, too." I flinched, remembering the Big Threes' angry faces. "I don't have a very good track record with any of them."

Usually, I'd be pretty good at keeping my face clear of most emotions, but I suppose my fear was pretty prominently displayed at the time. Thalia continued to rub my back, trying to find a way to distract me. Finally, she found a way.

"Annabeth, she Iris Messaged me earlier," she said.

"She did?" I was dying to know how the others were doing.

"Yeah," Thalia assured me, "She said that she tried with you, but something was jamming the call. One of her friends, I think his name was Derick, said that he had a dream about the Olympian counsel and you being in it. I told him that you were alright and everything, but his brother really wanted to see you."

So they were alright? I felt a knot loosen inside my stomach.

"Where were they?" I wondered.

"I don't know," she admitted, "It was pretty dark."

The news didn't make me very worried. Annabeth and Grover were with them, so they were in good hands. I leaned back.

"I wonder what's happened to them so far," I said.

"Probably nothing big," Thalia told me.

The door to the Hall of the Gods opened up and several of the gods came pouring out of it. I stood up hopefully. Apollo came up to me first and pulled me away from the others, who were fuming about whatever had been said.

"Avalon," he said, "you've been classified as a minor goddess."

"Oh, gods," I whimpered.

He made me look him in the eye. "It'll be alright, Avalon, I promise. You just need to remember a few things, alright? Can you do that?"

I nodded my head. "At the very least I can try."

"Okay, so number one," Apollo said, "All the gods' symbols of powers – Zeus's lightning bolt, Poseidon's trident, all of them – you can't touch a single one of them. Ever."

I nodded my head. I had a feeling there was a pretty big, "Or else," in that deal.

"Two: You can't go into another god's domain unless they let you. The sea is off limits, the sky is off limits, the Underworld is off limits – you get where I'm going, right?"

"Yeah."

"Another big one is that you can't interfere with mortal dealings."

My eyes widened. "What about Dominic and the others? What about Percy?"

He looked at me sadly. "Avalon, you can watch over them, you can probably even go with them, but you can't do everything for them. I think Zeus is going to have one lightning strike for 'No' and two for 'Yes'. If you get two, you can help. Most likely you'll only get one and when he doesn't do anything, it'll be a yes, but still look out for these signs."

"So if another god gives me permission to do something, I can?" I said halfheartedly.

"I'm afraid so," he said, "But your friends back at Camp Half-Blood probably shouldn't know about you being an Immortal. Things could get... sticky if they find out and you end up staying there."

I didn't quite understand that one, but I let my dad put that boundary down; I wasn't quite ready to even tell Dominic about being a goddess, much less my deal with Zeus. Then again, he probably already figured out that I was immortal.

"And, Avalon," Apollo said, glancing over my shoulder, "you should remember that deals should be equal. Advice and wisdom do not come without a price, especially when someone is asking a god about one of the things we specialize in. Like it or not, you are a minor goddess of visions. You can make the playing field level by simply saying that you have a counter offer."

I nodded my head.

"Zeus needs to talk to you," he continued, "He'll explain to you about the whole deal with him and his lightning bolts."

"Okay," I whimpered. I looked over my shoulder at Zeus, whose beard was crackling with lightning.

"You'll do fine," Apollo promised, "Just don't argue with him."

Again, I nodded mutely. After a moment, I walked over to the Lord of the Sky.

"You will never again set foot on Mt. Olympus, Avalon Gaery," Zeus boomed immediately, "Neither will you ever set foot in a plane in your life."

I flinched. "Okay," I squeaked.

"And I hold you to your word with not telling anyone about the future," he continued, "Anyone who is told can and will be killed. I will flash lightning as a warning. If I don't, then maybe the Fates have decided to whisper something in my ear and I'll think twice about telling you no."

"Alright," I said, "So I just can't tell anyone without you saying yes."

"In a nutshell, yes," he said, "Now, get out of my city!"

I was allowed to quickly pack a bag before I was pushed into the elevator and shunned from Mt. Olympus. I didn't even get to say goodbye to my dad. The elevator had music playing in it, but it was the kind of music that I detested. I made sure that the knife on my side was hidden. The elevator dinged to a stop and opened up. I walked out of the elevator and through the lobby of the New York State Building. Being in a place like this, where mortals thought everything was all sunshine and daisies, made the ring on my finger and the quiver under my jacket feel heavier than usual. I wished I could be them.

Outside, rain was starting to make everyone take out their umbrellas. What day was it? How long had I been unconscious? I walked over to the news stand nearby.

"September 20?" I gasped. I had been out for three days. I continued walking, wondering how I was going to get to the Grand Canyon in time to help the others save Percy. Thalia had said that they hadn't found him yet, but what if they were almost there. I needed to make a call to them. I dug in my pockets for a drachma. There was one in the bottom of my back pocket. Now all I needed was a rainbow. Well, I thought, looking at the rain pouring down from the sky, I guess I'm kind of lucky that Zeus was mad today.

I found a nice alley and took a large piece of square glass from the trash lining the buildings. There was light coming from one of the windows, so I let the rain hit the glass from there. Then I said, "Oh, Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering."

Tossing the coin over my makeshift rainbow, I continued with, "Show me Dominic Yuley."

The rainbow distorted, but only showed me static. Maybe there was some magical interference with Iris's ability to see people, but my spirits dropped.

"It isn't time yet," someone said behind me.

I acted on instincts and pulled out my dagger. When I saw who's chin I had put my knife under, I sheathed my weapon. Silver eyes glared at me, glowing with anger.

"Artemis," I said, "Sorry about that, I wasn't expecting you."

She glared at me some more. "Just don't do it again. If you do, you have my personal assurance that you will spend the rest of your pitiful life as an antelope."

I nodded my head. "Point taken. What were you saying about it not being time yet?"

"To talk to your friends," Artemis said, "You can't talk to them yet."

"I kind of figured that," I replied.

Thalia appeared next to Artemis. "My Lady-" She stopped and glanced at me. "What do you wish for us to do?"

Artemis appraised me. "Make sure we have room for one more. I believe we are making a trip to the Grand Canyon."

"As you wish," Thalia beamed and ran back the way she came.

"I suppose you're going to tell me to get into your chariot or else fight you to the death?" I asked sarcastically.

"Just follow me," she snapped.

She began walking away. Shrugging, I followed her.

"Being immortal, you'll probably be masked by the rest of us," Artemis explained, "And it would be a lot less painful for all of us if you just got to your friends as soon as possible."

I saw a huge, silver chariot with four golden reindeer linked to it. I whistled. "It's bigger than I remember."

"You have never seen my chariot," she replied, "You were unconscious when my brother put you in here, anyways, so you shouldn't remember it."

"Visions," I reminded her, "Percy Jackson saw it before, as did a good number of the people at camp."

She nodded. "Get in. I'll take the reins."

I climbed into the back of the chariot as Artemis grabbed the reins. Even with several dozen of Artemis's Hunters in the chariot, there was plenty of room. I suppose that was the magical part of the chariot making more room than there really seemed to be. There were also benches, so by the time the chariot started moving, I was seated. The Hunters glanced at me every now and then, but they weren't nervous. I guess that was a start.

Thalia sat down next to me. "How do you like it?"

"The chariot's nice," I told her, though I refused to look outside of the windows to see how high off the ground we were. And my fingers were starting to tingle. Not a very good sign.

"You don't like it," Thalia said.

"No, I like, I really like it," I assured her, "I just have a lot on my mind."

_I bet you do._

I shuddered. Thalia saw a flicker of pain cross my face.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

I nodded my head. "It's just Iapetus," I whispered to her.

She bit her lip, as if she were afraid of all that Iapetus had possibly told.

"Olympus is highly guarded against those types of things," I told her, "For a while, I couldn't feel his presence. Now, though, outside of Olympus..."

Thalia relaxed a bit. The tingling feeling crawled up my arm. Already I was feeling a bit dizzy.

"You know how I've been given a not-so-permanent title of Minor Goddess of Vision?" I asked tightly.

"Yeah."

"Don't be worried if I pass out or anything, alright? I think one is coming on soon."

"Do you want me to do anything?"

I shook my head. "Just make sure that I don't hit my head on the wooden edges of the chariot."

I leaned back and closed my eyes. Maybe I could fall asleep before I could pass out or something. I felt myself sliding as I disappeared from the chariot.

A girl with chocolate brown hair and golden eyes walked dejectedly towards a house. It was her house, and yet she dreaded opening the door. Her mother wasn't there, which seemed to make her a bit happier, until she saw the wreckage that laid around her.

Curtains were hanging off the windows by threads. Dishes were crashed on the ground. Glass had been smashed. All of her things had been demolished. The name "HAZEL" had been scratched into the wall, right to a note. The girl read the writing: _Wicked girl. I'm waiting at the island. Don't disappoint me._

She sobbed. Hazel knew what the message meant, and she had no other choice than to follow orders. Otherwise, her mother would die. And so she took the small rowboat that she owned and pulled it to the water and began rowing towards Resurrection Bay. It was a fitting name, what with the thing Hazel was being forced to do.

She looked a bit green, but managed to not stop to be sick over the side. Hazel turned around once to see an island materialize – green trees, black sand, and snow. Not to mention the boulders that were hanging perilously at the top of the highest peak and littered the whole entire island. Taking a deep breath, she continued rowing. A raven flew onto her boat and stared at her with more knowledge than Hazel thought a regular bird would have. Then again, this island was magical, and this raven was the size of an eagle.

"Tonight," it told her, "the last night."

She looked at it curiously, but she had seen weirder things. Like a giant rock that seemed to grow.

"Are you from my father?" Hazel asked, but she immediately knew the answer – she was in Alaska, after all, and Alaska was far out of the gods' domain.

The raven fluttered its wings, but didn't answer. It looked at the island. "The last night, tonight."

As the raven flew away, Hazel hit the shore of the island. She dragged the boat further inland and then began running to where she knew her mother would be.

The cave was lit up with glowing mosses of various colors and pulsated with a steady beat, like that of a heart beating in someone's sleep.

_You all belong to me, _Gaea murmured. _Surrender. Return to the earth._

_No, _Hazel thought. _I'm Hazel Levesque. You can't have me._

Her mother stood in front of a large pit. In the large pit was a giant, two-story tall spire. Hazel had made that thing rise from the deepest pits of who knows what. She silently cursed herself for doing so.

"It's too late," Hazel's mother whispered.

"Mom?" Hazel asked. Gaea was letting her talk in her own voice? Why?

"What have I done?" her mother asked, "Oh, what did I do to you?"

Both of them looked at the spire. Heat was coming from it, and a form was starting to take shape, humanoid, but not quite so. Hazel knew what the son of Gaea was being made out of: Pure gold and silver for skin, and oil for blood. She hated jewels more than she hated Gaea. And that was saying something.

Hazel's mom fell to her knees, crying. "I'm sorry for all I've ever done to you, Hazel, I was greedy and I shouldn't've been."

Hazel should've yelled at her. She should've told her that she had no right to call her her daughter and that sorry meant nothing after everything she had done to her. But she put a comforting arm around her anyways.

"Do you know how to stop it?" Hazel asked.

"No," she said, "She let me go, she knows it's too late. We can't do anything."

"Is she gone?"

"She's here. She needed my freewill for the last part."

Hazel looked around the cavern. "We need to get out of here. That thing... it's going to hatch."

"Soon." Her mother paused to take a deep breath. "Pluto warned me. He warned me about my wish."

"Your wish?"

"I wanted to be rich. I wanted all the gold in the world. Pluto, after he courted me and saw you, he was so proud he wanted to let me have a wish. Anything I wanted! And I asked for all the gold in the world. I imagined the silliest things – being the wife of a god, having billions of dollars. So you got the curse."

"That's why I can find things under the earth?"

"And why they bring only sorrow. That's how _she _found me, how she was able to control me. I was angry with your father. I blamed him for my problems. I blamed you. I was so bitter, I listened to Gaea's voice. I was a fool."

"There's got to be something we can do," Hazel said. "Tell me how to stop her."

The ground trembled. Gaea's disembodied voice echoed through the cave.

_My eldest rises, _she said, _the most precious thing in the earth_—_and you have brought him from the depths, Hazel Levesque. You have made him anew. His awakening cannot be stopped. Only one thing remains._

"I won't help you anymore!" she yelled.

_But I am done with your help, girl. I brought you here for one reason only. Your mother required...incentive._

"Mother?" Hazel was terrified of what Gaea meant.

"I'm so sorry. Please, know that everything I do was meant for you. She said that you would live if-"

"If you sacrificed yourself," Hazel finished, "She needs you to sacrifice yourself to raise that _thing._"

_Alcyoneus, _Gaea said. _Eldest of the giants. He must rise first, and this will be his new homeland_—_far from the gods. He will walk these icy mountains and forests. He will raise an army of monsters. While the gods are divided, fighting each other in this mortal World War, he will send forth his armies to destroy Olympus._

Hazel was frozen with fear. She didn't know what would happen if that actually did work, but she was sure of one thing: It wouldn't be pretty.

"Go, Hazel," her mother whispered, "She'll let you live, but you have to be quick."

Hazel knew that Gaea would honor her agreement. She would make Hazel sit and watch the end of the world.

"I'm not going. I'm not living for that."

Hazel hugged her mother tightly and concentrated on every precious metal in this cavern. The cave shook.

_Don't be a fool, _Gaea said, though she seemed a bit worried, _You'll only delay me! You won't do anything to stop it from happening!_

But she could give someone else that chance. She was happy with dying for the better cause. Her mother kissed her head softly. The air grew stifling hot. Rocks were crashing to the ground.

"You were my gift, Hazel," her mother whispered, "You are the most precious thing in the world."

The ceiling crashed on top of them as I sat up, sure that oil was filling up my lungs. I gasped for breath, sweat dripping down my face. I barely recognized Artemis sitting next to me until she put a cool cloth on my forehead.

"Calm down," she ordered rather than told, "You were having a hard time breathing earlier, and then you started burning up."

I pushed her hand away. "I'm fine. That's usual. Where are the Hunters?"

Her face darkened. "Zeus has called all of the Olympians back to Olympus. I have told Thalia to lead you the rest of the way to your friends, but I cannot go any further."

"Why would Zeus call all of you back?" I asked, still recovering from my vision, "Aren't all of you, like, needed down here on earth or something?"

"I do not know why Zeus has suddenly called all of us back," Artemis admitted, "but I have no doubt that part of it is because of you."

I shifted uncomfortably. Her eyes glowed furiously. My mouth opened even though I didn't want it to.

"When you get to the council, tell the others that Gaea is trying to awaken again."

Her eyes widened, losing the glow for a moment. I tried stopping myself, but I couldn't.

"She started in the 1940's, but she was foiled," I continued in monotone, "The reason the dead aren't staying dead is because of Thanatos being chained. Gaea is raising her children to fight the gods."

Artemis immediately saw that I wasn't speaking correctly. She snapped her fingers in front of my eyes, commanding me to wake up, but I didn't. My voice changed from a monotone to a sleepy murmur.

"You can't stop me," I whispered, "They will rise and overtake you all. She only made me sleep longer. I am awakening. The prophecy means nothing."

"Gaea," Artemis snarled, "Let the maiden be."

My mouth curled into a sneer. "She is weak," Gaea barked, "For years I have slumbered, searching for someone who could handle someone as powerful as I toying with their mind." I tilted my head. "She fights, but will not win. Iapetus was just a test. And she lived."

I laughed as Artemis took out her bow. "You would not hurt a maiden, Lady Artemis. Hera has plans for this one, but I will not let her fulfill her wishes. She cannot do anything to fight me. I will-"

Artemis let loose her arrow. It hit me in the chest, jarring me from Gaea's control. I gasped and grabbed at the silver arrow stuck in me. Artemis came up to me and tore my hand off of the arrow. My head fell back and hit the wood of the chariot.

"This will hurt," Artemis warned, and then pulled the arrow out of my chest. I managed to bite down on my lower lip and not cry out. A trickle of _Ichor _rolled down my chin while my chest healed. I took a deep breath, and pain creeped over my body. Faintly, I heard Artemis calling my name.

"Avalon," she ordered, "Look at me."

I picked up my head. She looked a bit pale.

"Yeah? What is it?" I asked.

"Do you remem-" she began.

"Yeah," I said, "Gaea's found out about me. And knows how to possess me." I shifted upright. "You should probably tell the other gods about this. Gaea waking up will be the end of all of us if we don't help each other and fight side by side, mortals and gods alike."

"Who was the 'she' that Gaea was talking about?" Artemis asked.

"I shouldn't say," I said, "It looks like she is now watching my every move even closer than Iapetus was. I should be even more vigilant than usual."

She nodded. "Since that's all," she said, "get out of my chariot."

Artemis fixed my clothes – magically sewed them back together, took the _Ichor _stains out, et cetera, et cetera – before shoving me out of the chariot. My chest throbbed, but the pain died away pretty quickly. I found Thalia and the Hunters standing near a corner in the canyon.

"So you're finally up," Thalia said, "We believe that the place your friends went through is right over there." She pointed at a factory.

I looked at it and blinked. "Are you sure?"

She nodded her head.

I twirled my ring and put my bow on my shoulder. "Okay, then. Let's get going."

Thalia grabbed my arm. "Can we just walk in there? Is it safe?"

"Just make sure not to fall asleep." I continued walking, drumming my fingers on my bow.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I am a daughter of Apollo," I reminded her, "My voice can be pretty powerful."

"Should we put something in our ears?" she asked.

"If you wish," I told her, and pushed open the door to the factory.

The halls were practically deserted, but the sense of a recent battle was hanging in the air. Thalia told everyone to put earplugs in their ears. A few demigods saw us and slowly backed away. It could've been the fact that they were already pretty broken up about how they were already beaten by a small group of demigods. It also could've been the murderous look on my face as glimpses of the fight played in front of my eyes.

I knew the way to where they had gone even better than the Hunters' tracking skills. I started humming Pachelbel's Canon and any of the demigods who were listening started stumbling over their own feet and falling asleep. Those around me looked amazed, slightly. I didn't mind. I just wanted to find my friends. When I saw a group of demigods in a pile, all knocked out, I knew that we were close.

"Looks like Annabeth's been here," Thalia muttered.

Rounding the corner, I saw a kid leaning against a wall, clutching his leg. I stopped, a picture of him slicing Dominic's arm flaring in my eyes.

"Avalon?" Thalia asked, taking out her earplugs.

"Go ahead," I told her stonily, "Take to higher ground. I have a few questions I need to ask Reno."

"Reno?" she repeated.

The guy leaning against the wall looked over his shoulder. I continued walking. The Hunters stopped in front of a door with locks littered in front of it.

"Go on," I said again.

They went through the door.

I walked up to Reno and pulled him off the wall before viscously thrusting him back against it. He cried out and grabbed his leg. His dark eyes shined with fear. I put my knife to his throat. His cut leg barely kept him stable.

"I want to make it _very _clear that if I see your face _ever _again," I snarled, "I will have every god known to mankind hunting your little _auritulus._"

"And just who are you?" he asked. He tried to sound brave, but his voice shook.

"Avalon Gaery, goddess of visions," I hissed, for once liking the fact that I could use a title like that, "My father is Apollo." When he grabbed at his pocket, I pushed my knife further into his adams apple. I nicked him by "accident" and a bead of crimson red fell down his neck. "If you try following us, I will personally bring you to the Underworld and feed you to a pack of hellhounds. I don't care about was Pluto has to say about me walking into his realm. Do you understand me?"

He gave me a strangled, "Yes, ma'am."

"Good." I put my knife away. "Now scram."

He ran for the hills.

I walked through the door the Hunters had gone through. They were a little ways away, looking at markings in the dark, sandy ground. The black sand reminded me of my vision of Hazel Levesque and I shuddered, thinking of the way she had died, upright and proud. I wished that, if I had any way I could die, I'd go out like her.

_You don't need to go forward, _the voice of Gaea purred.

I closed my eyes. _I need to find my friends. Then I need to save Percy Jackson. Back off._

I continued walking, but Gaea continued to nag at me, telling me that I should walk away and that it was useless.

_Perseus Jackson is already dead, _she was saying when I had reached the Hunters. _All you will be doing is picking up a dead body._

_Lady, I've seen the future. Percy's in it-_

_Exactly my point. _Her voice was falsely sympathetic. _You _saw _his future. Things can change. His future has._

"They went right," Phoebe, the second in command said, "We should probably take higher ground, though, it looks like something is going after them. The higher we are, the better the advantage and aim we'll have."

"Good idea," Thalia said.

We climbed the rocks nearby and found that the top of it was completely flat, as if the place was a giant maze or something. We began marching down the wall. We had only been going for about ten minutes when we heard a loud shout and began running.


	15. Zeus's Orders: Dominic Yuley

Chapter Fifteen: Dominic Yuley

Perhaps, I overreacted when I saw the giant hellhound stalking us. But it had probably been there for a while and we hadn't noticed. And so I screamed to get everyone's attention. Yeah, real manly, I know.

With my sword in my hand, my arm shook. I still hadn't fully healed from Reno's slash. The cut had stopped bleeding, but it still ached. Derick had really stepped up his brotherly ways since then, fussing over me and trying to get me to eat more Ambrosia cubes. When Annabeth had told him that anymore would probably make me burn up in flames, he laid back and just asked me how my arm was doing instead.

Johnny had nearly killed himself by shocking a whole bunch of demigods. Grover was pretty tired, too. I doubted Annabeth and Derick could take a hellhound down while keeping it away from everyone. Derick waved the torch he had found at the hellhound. It stopped, but growled and looked as if it wasn't going to wait much longer. Something whistled through the air and the hellhound stumbled backwards. A golden arrow was in its neck. A twin sprouted next it and the monster collapsed into golden dust. I looked up at a giant boulder of black rock.

It was Avalon.

She smiled at me and waved as if she had only been gone for a few minutes. "Did you miss me?" she asked as she slid down to the ground.

I barely knew I was running towards her, until I felt my hands cling to her as I hugged her tightly. Avalon patted my back.

"Hey, Dom," she said, "Nice to... nice to see you again... but you're kind of... crushing me."

I quickly released her. She didn't look as if she had fallen off a cliff. Avalon had a scar that looked like it had come from the hydra while it was biting her, but there wasn't much else. In fact, she seemed to be absolutely _glowing. _Or maybe that was just my imagination.

"Where've you been?" I asked immediately, "We've been worried sick about you."

A flash of guilt waved over her face. "Yeah, about that..." She glanced up as if trying to see the Heavens. "Ju – Zeus had a meeting with me and a few gods about my Iapetus problem."

"What did he say?" Derick materialized next to me.

Again, she glanced up at the ceiling. "He, um, said that I couldn't tell anyone about my visions and anyone who found out about them would be smitten down. Other than that, he couldn't fix my immortality. They gave me a title I could wear. They're calling me a Minor Goddess of Visions."

Annabeth's eyes widened. "You're now a goddess?"

"Remember that I didn't want to be one in the beginning? Zeus has made me abide by the Ancient Laws, too. I'm just glad that I'm back here with you guys."

She hugged me again.

"So that's why she doesn't want to be immortal," a voice from a little bit away from us said.

I looked back up at the rock Avalon had climbed down from. A couple dozen girls in silvery white parkas were where Avalon had been standing. All of them carried silver bows.

"What? Did you get a new battalion of archers on your side or something?" Derick asked, but this time, he wasn't teasing.

"No," Avalon answered, "They're just the Hunters of Artemis. The one with the circlet on her head is-"

"A daughter of Zeus," Johnny said, a spark of electricity flying off him and onto a nearby rock in his shock. Everyone turned to look at him. Avalon glanced at one of the Hunters, who looked pale, but recovered herself in a matter of seconds. She seemed more weary than ever. The Hunters came down from the rock.

"Phoebe, scout ahead," the one with the circlet on her head said. She looked at Johnny. "I take it you are my half-brother?"

My friend nodded his head. "Yeah. My name is Johnny," he said, "Who are you?"

"Thalia Grace," she replied, "Lieutenant of Artemis."

Thalia looked us all over as if trying to decide how good we would be as pets. Well, at least it looked as if she was doing that with us guys; Avalon and Annabeth both got a friendly smile.

"Long time no see, Annabeth," Thalia said, "Where'd you find all these half-bloods?"

"They're all friends of Avalon's," Annabeth explained, "Derick and Dominic came with Avalon when we were going to Camp Half-Blood. Johnny was being chased by several hellhounds, through our woods."

She nodded. "That would make sense. Children of Zeus never get out of things easily, especially-"

Avalon stumbled into me and I caught her. She blinked repetitively.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

Thalia looked at her worriedly. "She was like that earlier, in Artemis's Chariot. She passed out and had a vision, I believe."

Avalon straightened up. "I'm fine. Just a bit dizzy, that's all."

"I don't know," I said, "You look a bit pale."

"I'm fine," she assured me, "I was just a bit dizzy."

"Okay," I said slowly. I still wasn't sure. She sat down on a rock and rubbed her temples as if she had a headache. Johnny leaned on Grover's shoulder.

"What aren't you telling us?" he asked.

Avalon didn't look at us. She became as still as a statue, in fact. Annabeth recognized what was happening instantly.

"Avalon?" she said, "Avalon, is Iapetus talking to you?"

At that, Avalon looked up. There was a gleam in her eyes that I sickeningly remembered from Medea. Anger sparked in me.

"Your efforts are futile," Avalon murmured, "This means nothing."

Her voice wasn't hers. It was as soft as a lullaby, as if she were about to fall asleep. Or wake up, but was having a hard time doing so. Annabeth shook Avalon's shoulder.

"Avalon, wake up," she said.

A sleepy smile fell on her face. "Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena. Your fate is very dark. Your choice approaches."

Annabeth froze as if she had been dreading those words for years. Then Avalon gasped, grabbing Annabeth's shoulder to keep from falling forward.

"Oh, gods," she muttered. She looked like she was going to be sick, just like last time. Avalon shut her eyes tightly. Annabeth was still frozen in place. The Hunters were speechless.

What was that about? Who had taken control of Avalon? What did she mean about Annabeth's choice?

I pushed aside the questions and sat down next to Avalon. She was burning up. Her skin glowed a bit brighter.

"Um, Avalon," Thalia said, "I think you're about to lose control."

Avalon opened her eyes and took a deep breath. She looked at her glowing hands. Soon, they were her regular pale color. Her temperature returned to normal. She rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands.

"What's going on with you?" Grover asked.

"Gaea," she mumbled, "She found out how to possess me."

Annabeth came back to life. "Gaea? Mother Earth?"

Avalon nodded her head, rocking back and forth. "She said that Iapetus was just a test to see if I could handle someone as powerful as him playing with my mind."

She winced as if Gaea was speaking to her right at that moment. "She keeps on telling me to not go with you, that Percy is already dead." She closed her eyes again. "I _know _he's alive, though. I've seen him in the future."

"Just try ignoring her," Derick offered.

"You try ignoring a crazed goddess who wants to kill all of civilization," Avalon growled, "It's pretty hard."

Her eyes flickered from brown to mossy green again.

"Is this why you were dizzy earlier?" I asked.

To my surprise, she shook her head. "A vision was trying to get in."

"Let the vision come, then," I suggested, "Maybe Gaea can tell that you're weaker or something."

She looked at me as if wondering if my plan would work. Then she slumped against my shoulder. I put my arm around her waist to keep her from falling. The Hunter that Thalia had sent earlier, Phoebe, came running up to us.

"There's a cave up ahead," she said, "We can move into there for shelter during the night."

Thalia looked at me. "Can you-"

I picked up Avalon. "Yeah. Lead the way."

"Dom, what about your arm?" Derick asked.

The ache in my arm wasn't there. "I'm fine."

He looked at my arm. His eyes widened. "Whoa. When did that happen?"

"What is it?" Annabeth asked, clearly dreading bad news.

"His arm is healed," Derick said.

"Avalon's a daughter of Apollo," Grover mused, "Maybe just her being around heals wounds or something."

"It's possible," Annabeth allowed, "Let's get going."

We marched for a few hours. The Hunters tended to run ahead every now and then, to make sure that nothing was coming at us from ahead. A few even ran up to start making camp. Avalon mumbled incoherently as she dreamt fitfully. Sometimes her head would loll the other way or her hands would clench into fists. It was a little more than unnerving.

When we got to the cave, a large tent had been made with enough beds for everyone. The Hunters glared at all of us guys, but grudgingly let us inside. I put Avalon down in a cot and sat down next to her. Johnny went outside to talk to Thalia, and Grover tried acting cool in front of the Hunters, which only got him a slap in the face or something like that. Derick and Annabeth just laid back and relaxed for a few moments.

"I feel like we're nearly at the end of the quest," Derick said, "Like we've almost found Percy."

Annabeth nodded. "I hope what Avalon said was true, about Gaea being wrong and him still being alive."

For the first time, I saw just how much she missed Percy. Tears threatened to spill, but both Derick and I didn't do anything. We couldn't. She would probably just yell at us. Or drive her knife through our stomach. One thing I knew loud and clear about Annabeth, was that she didn't like it when people pitied her. She cleared her face and looked away.

"I thought Gaea was all nurture versus nature or something," Derick said.

"She helped the titans dethrone their father in the first Titan War," Annabeth told us, "When the gods took control, Gaea retaliated by sending out Typhon. Typhon nearly destroyed the gods, but they won, eventually. After a while, she tried killing them again, with a few giants born to defeat the gods. They were called the Bane of the Gods because each one was meant solely for killing one god."

She shivered. I remembered a bit of what Kronos had said a few months ago, when I was hiding from all the monsters with my mom. He had mentioned Typhon. Kronos had said something about the gods being too busy with him or something like that.

"Repeat..." Avalon mumbled in her sleep, "Again..." She frowned and turned her head to the side.

Annabeth looked even more troubled by what Avalon had said. "I fear..." She shook her head and kept whatever she was thinking to herself. "We should all get some rest before we head out again."

Derick yawned and stretched. "Yeah. I haven't had any decent amount of sleep in... I don't know how long."

"A day and a half," I said.

He looked over. "Yeah, I guess that's how long it's been. You should get some rest, too, the Hunters will take care of watching everything."

I knew the hidden message that he had in those few words. I should stop worrying about Avalon for a little while. She'd be alright.

I yawned. I hadn't slept since we had been in that hotel, and I had only slept a few hours at that time, too. Add that to fighting a guy that was in charge of a whole entire camp of rogue demigods, and you get, well...

Derick snapped his fingers under my nose and I jerked up straight.

"Wh – what?" I mumbled.

"Dude, you're going insomniac," my brother told me, "Go find a bed and curl up in it before you pass out like Miss Vision Queen over here."

I was too tired to argue with him as he helped me over to another cot. As soon as I hit the bed, I fell asleep.

I woke up to the sound of screaming. I jumped out of my bed and pulled out my sword. Avalon was shaking and was pressed in a tight ball against the wall. I calmed down just a tiny bit. She had probably just had a really bad vision or something. I knelt down next to her and put my arms around her, but she lashed out and began fighting me. The others woke up and watched as I tried calming her down.

"Avalon, it's alright," I told her, "It's just me, Dominic."

She began calming down after a few minutes. She stopped hitting me and buried her face in my shirt. I rubbed her back.

"We have three hours," she sobbed, "Then he dies."

Annabeth's face turned ashen. "Then we have to go. Now."

Avalon nodded and stood up. She rubbed her eyes. "I should tell Thalia that she should go back." She walked off as several Hunters stormed into the tent.

"It was just Avalon," Derick told them, "She had another night terror."

Night terrors. They were much worse than night terrors. Avalon didn't like talking about it much, but her mom had brought a doctor to their house when she was young. She had been diagnosed with night terrors since she was thirteen.

Johnny gripped my shoulder. He looked better from last night, with no more bags under his eyes and energy literally rippling through his body. "She'll be alright, Dom," he told me, "She is a goddess now."

If anything, that just made me feel worse. Avalon was a goddess. I'll admit it, I loved her. But I was no match for a goddess. Even if I was, she wouldn't do that to me. She wouldn't love me, and then never grow old with me or whatever. She'd say it would be the same as toying with me, and she hated it when people toyed with others. I sighed.

"I know," I said, "Come on, let's go find Percy."

Walking outside, we saw Thalia arguing with Avalon.

"Thalia, Artemis told you to bring me to my friends," Avalon said, "You have brought me to them. You can't do anything more."

"Percy is my friend, too-" she began.

"Thalia Grace," Avalon growled. Her eyes brightened dangerously. "I have a very short temper today. Trust me when I say that you cannot do anything else for Perseus Jackson."

Thalia looked like she was ready to risk getting blown to bits by Avalon. "Are you sure-"

Avalon whispered something that only Thalia could hear. She didn't say much, but Thalia's eyes widened. She continued and Thalia nodded. The Lieutenant of Artemis went back to her Hunters and told them to pack everything up. Avalon rubbed her temples as if she was able to calm down better by doing so.

We went over to her. She gave us a sheepish glance.

"You saw that, didn't you?" she asked.

"Yeah," Grover said, "You aren't going to blast anyone to pieces, are you?"

"No," Avalon sighed, "But we need to get going. We only have three hours."

"How do you know that?" Annabeth asked.

Avalon gave us her best guarded look. "I can't talk about it. Zeus's orders." She started walking. "You need to know something else. I can't do everything. Being a goddess, I can only help mortals a limited number of times during a quest. I have helped you once already by killing that hellhound. I can only help you once more."

"It's your quest," Johnny argued, "You're leading it."

"Am I?" she said, "There was a reason I went to Annabeth first: I gave ideas; she made sure it happen."

"You got us to Rome," Derick said, "You got us the info we needed to get here. You got us to California. You called the Grey Sisters."

"Chiron said that the fastest way to Rome was by plane. I was enchanted when we got to Medea's lair. Calling the Grey Sisters, I had inspiration. As for getting to California, Grover talked the dolphins into bringing us there."

Judging by Annabeth's steely expression, she understood why Avalon was doing this. It _was _Avalon's quest, but Zeus or some other god had pushed it onto Annabeth. Avalon picked at the sleeve of her T-shirt.

"Gods cannot run quests," she murmured, "Quests are for heroes."

It was easy to see the wistfulness in her eyes. She really hated being a goddess. Too many restrictions. Too many rules. Too long to live. I pulled her to my side. She might not be able to love me, but I could still make her feel better. Johnny nudged her playfully.

"We'll find a way to get your mortality back," he promised.

She smiled. "So which way should we go?"

We stopped at a crossroad. Forwards was completely encased in ice. To our left, the ground started descending. To the right, there was a multitude of spikes.

"Who else says we should go left?" Derick asked.

Pretty much everyone agreed.


	16. Twin Banes: Avalon Gaery

Chapter Sixteen: Avalon Gaery

My dream had been pretty freaky. I had seen two, partially made, twelve foot tall giants. Their faces looked as if they had been melted, smashed in, and then melted again, so I couldn't even guess how they could speak, much less see. Both of them had at least one limb that wasn't finished yet.

Ephialtes and Otis.

They were sons of Gaea, born to oppose the god Bacchus – er, sorry, Dionysus. They also knew exactly where Percy was, and they told me that I only had three hours. Then they gave me a pleasant vision of Percy boiling in oil and screaming in agony.

Running down the maze with my friends, I couldn't help the thought of being late from getting into my mind. Percy was said to have the Curse of Achilles on him, which made all of him besides one place weapon-proof. But suppose they find out where his weak point was? What if they _do_ boil him in oil?

We stopped when we saw a pair of doors wide open. I swallowed roughly. The other could sense it, too. Something evil and malicious. We all took out our weapons and edged towards the door, Annabeth in front. Quickly, we all tiptoed into the room and hid behind a huge, black column of marble. Behind us, there was another column and together they held up a large balcony. There were three more along the side of the wall. The other side mirrored ours. At the front of the room, two deformed giants sat in thrones of shade. At the foot of the thrones, there was a single Cyclopes. As we watched, one of the giant's hands finished forming.

"What _are _those things?" Johnny breathed.

I glanced at Annabeth. She looked like she had an idea, but was looking at me for assurance that she was crazy. That she was wrong for once in her life. I shook my head.

"Ephialtes and Otis," I whispered, "Sons of Gaea. Bane of Dionysus."

Annabeth swallowed roughly. "So it wasn't Iapetus who took Percy?"

"No," I said, "He's just the one who has been messing up _my _life."

"So how do we get passed him?" Derick asked.

"We don't," Annabeth said, "We can't kill these kinds of giants without the help of a god..." She looked at me. "Or a goddess."

"Annabeth, it is either get Percy and fight the giant later, or fight the giant now and let Percy die," I told her, wishing we could kill this thing and save Percy at the same time, "Either way, Ephialtes and Otis are destined for another fate."

"We could just go through the shadows and find the door that way," Dominic offered.

I looked at my hand. "Dom, I glow in the dark. I think we need a distraction."

It took a moment for them to register what I meant. Dominic took my hand.

"You can't go out there alone," he said.

"I can't die, Dominic," I reminded him, "And plus, the prophecy said, 'Gold hits the floor, a distraction made/They find safety in the shade.' Gold could mean _Ichor. _And shade, well, it's all around the columns."

"But-" Dominic began.

"I thought you said she'd be here by now, brother," one of the giants said. He only had one arm, but the other had both of them.

"Patience, Otis," the other boomed. Even with only half a face, Ephialtes's voice was pretty terrifying. "Mother has promised us the goddess."

"Hmm... Perhaps she is only late," Otis mused.

A voice shook the cavern. _She is here._

I shivered at the voice of Gaea, but stayed where I was.

"Come out, Avalon Gaery," Ephialtes boomed, "Perseus Jackson will live a fuller life in exchange for you."

I knew it was a lie, but just him thinking that I'd fall for that angered me. I ran out from behind the column, shooting several golden arrows at the giants. Something hit my back and I fell, but I got up and continued shooting Ephialtes and Otis. The arrows lodged in their chests, but they didn't seem to notice. Something stabbed through my leg as the Cyclopes marched forwards. I crumpled to my knees, seeing a wooden arrow sticking out of my thigh. It felt like someone was burning my leg, and then I noticed I was glowing again. Trying to tune down the whole I-can-kill-you-by-just-looking-at-me power, I snapped the back of the arrow off and pulled it out of my leg. As my leg healed, I stood back up and took out my knife, but there was something behind me that shot another arrow at me. Wood sprouted from my shoulder. The Cyclopes raised its club, but Ephialtes raised his hand and laughed.

"Stop," he said, "She thinks she can take us out single-handedly and get Jackson back? I want to show her just how wrong she is."

"No killing?" the Cyclopes asked.

"Not yet," he told him.

The one-eyed monster dragged me forward. I fought with all my strength, but without my knife or my bow and with an arrow in my shoulder and my side, I couldn't do much. I hoped Dominic wasn't arguing with the others instead of looking for Percy.

"So _you _are Avalon Gaery?" Otis asked, "The newest prophet alive?"

"Yeah," I shouted, "And you must be Deformed Child Number One and Two. Unhand me and maybe your followers will live!"

They only laughed. "We can play at that game all day, Roman, but I'd-"

"What do you mean, _'Roman'?" _I growled, "I'm Greek."

"You do not know?" Otis chuckled, "You are not Greek, child, you are Roman. The reason you refer to the gods by their Roman counter-part, the reason you've always been stricter and more disciplined, it is because your father is Roman and not Greek."

I shook my head. "That's not possible," I mumbled, but memories started flashing into my head: Stabbing at people instead of slashing; Thalia looking as if she was confused about Apollo being stern; me being so down to the point. Could it all point to me being Roman?

"You've been at Camp Half-Blood," Ephialtes sneered, "when you should've gone to Camp Jupiter. But enough with the talk about the past. I want to know about _you_."

"Like what?" I spat, though I knew what they wanted to know.

"Tell us about your visions."

"No."

"You will tell us either way." Otis half-grinned. "Why not skip over the pain and head straight to the rewards?"

"Because I can't tell you about it. And I never _will _tell you."

Ephialtes bent down and put his face right in front of mine. He wasn't any prettier up close and personal. "You might play the strong, confident demigod, but I know you are not."

For a moment, my confidence threatened to collapse in on itself. The stress of keeping Iapetus _and _Gaea threatened to overwhelm me, until I heard both their voices speaking in unison.

_Tell him everything. All your worries can end right now, if you only tell them about yourself._

Ephialtes grinned and leaned back. "Iapetus and Mother have been working on you recently, telling you to turn tail and run. Why have you not listened to them?"

I clamped my jaws together. I couldn't say anything. If I did, Gaea would be able to take me over again. My will would fall apart in a matter of seconds.

_You can have everything back, _the two of them whispered, _A quiet life with your mother, aging like her and all your friends. Everything will be given back to you._

For a moment, I actually gave it some thought. I saw myself, not glowing, for one thing, and aging with all my friends. My mom was a lot better than she had been over the course of my life. Derick and I actually got along, which improved Dominic's relationship with both of us. And all I had to do was utter three sentences, at the least.

But it was too good to be true.

I looked up at the giants. What if I was given my mortality back right in front of them? They could crush me like a bug. Or boil me in oil as a substitute for Percy.

"Bring out Perseus Jackson," I told them, "Get him back to Camp Half-Blood, alive, and maybe I'll cooperate. I am not here to get my mortality back, I am here to get my friend out of the clutches of an evil mastermind."

The two brothers narrowed their developing eyes. I knew I had them cornered. A god had to accept a gift from another god in order for it to be bestowed upon them. Forcing mortality on me would take too much energy from Gaea and Iapetus. They'd both be put to sleep for even longer than before. My father's words rang inside my head.

"Remember that deals should be equal. Advice and wisdom do not come without a price, especially when someone is asking a god about one of the things we specialize in. You can make the playing field level by simply saying that you have a counter offer."

"I think sparing your life is enough in trade of the knowledge we seek," the two giants said.

"You can't kill me," I said, "The threat of taking my life means nothing."

They scowled at me. "Your bargain is high."

"Yours is too," I reminded them.

Ephialtes opened his mouth to say something, but right at that moment, the Cyclopes holding me hostage yelped. He fell on his rump and disintegrated into golden sparkles. Something behind me clattered to the ground. Ephialtes, being the only one out of the two of them with both legs and feet, stood up with me. My shoulder ached. My back burned. But my ring was back on my finger. I was immediately holding my bow and shooting the mobile giant. Ephialtes roared in rage. I made sure to back up – and fast.

I turned around, taking a glimpse at a demigod I had never seen before in my life. He was laying on the ground, unconscious. A bow was right next to him, so I thought it was safe to say that he was the one who had shot me. Still, pushing my feelings aside, I didn't want to even think of what the giants would do once the poor kid woke up. I hooked my arms under his armpits and dragged him behind a pillar, Ephialtes thundering after me. He tore a pillar off of one of the balconies on the other side of the wall and smashed all of the columns near me in half. Rubble came crashing down and the balconies threatened to fall down. I gasped as a rock hit one of the arrows in my back and pushed the tip up into me.

"Avalon!" Annabeth was beckoning to me from a door a little ways away. "Come on! We've got Percy!"

"Just go!" I shouted, "I can't run!"

"Yes, you can!" she told me, "Just try."

I felt like we were back at Camp Half-Blood, Annabeth coaxing me through the vigorous training I had been forced through. I started to get up, but another swing from Ephialtes made me crouch back down. I was pinned. Annabeth put on her hat of invisibility and reappeared next to me.

"We have to get him out of here," I told her, pointing at the unconscious demigod.

"Why? He tried killing you," she reasoned.

"He's a demigod, like us," I said, "He was brainwashed."

Annabeth saw there was no point in arguing. She looked at the guy again. "Can you walk while keeping one of his sides up?"

"I think," I said, "If I'm on his right side."

"Okay, let's go."

We hauled the kid up and began running while Ephialtes readied his next swing. The balcony I was under collapsed. Another brick hit one of the arrows in my back and I fell to my knees right outside of the door. Annabeth threw the guy into the tunnel and then pulled me in, seconds before the balcony above the entrance collapsed. We heard a muffled cry come from Ephialtes.

Annabeth looked at the two arrows in me. The one in my shoulder had been snapped at the back, so the fletches of the arrow were nowhere to be seen. The one in my back had pushed through the side of my stomach. Annabeth's hands were painted completely in gold.

"We have to get those arrows out of you," she said, "How should I do that?"

"Break the back of the arrow," I instructed, "Then grab right behind the arrowhead and pull as hard as you can."

"Are you sure-"

"Annabeth." I looked her in the eyes. "Just do it."

She grabbed the back of the arrow in my side and snapped off the fletches. The shock sent up the arrow made me whimper like a dog being threatened by its owner.

"Sorry," Annabeth said. She moved her hand to the front of the arrow. "On the count of three?"

"I don't care," I gasped, "I just want these things out of me."

"O – okay," she stammered, "One, two-"

She pulled the arrow out of my side. Pain flared in my side until my vision turned red. When my vision cleared, I saw Annabeth with her eyes closed and her hand over the other guy's eyes.

"Oh, gods, did I...?"

"Can I look?" Annabeth asked.

"Yeah."

Cautiously, she met my eyes. She looked at the arrow in my shoulder. "Can I take it out?"

"Yeah. I'll try not to lose it again."

"One-"

She tugged at the arrow. I gasped, but the arrow didn't come out. Had I already started healing? Annabeth pulled again and my whole side jerked with it. She put her other hand on my shoulder and tried again. I felt my skin reopen as she fell back with the arrow in her hand. I tried getting my breathing in control. Annabeth pulled out a canteen and offered it to me. I barely had any energy to move my hand, so she helped me tip some of the Nectar into my mouth. I started sliding off my knees, but Annabeth propped me up against the wall.

"Avalon!"

We looked over and saw the others running over to us. Dominic knelt next to me and looked at my shoulder.

"We heard you screaming," he said shakily.

"I'll be fine," I promised, "I'll heal."

"Who's this?" Derick was poking the kid that had shot me.

"He's... a prisoner of the giants," I said carefully.

"Really?" Derick looked as if he didn't believe me.

"He shot the Cyclopes," I said, suddenly sure of it, "He was the one who caused the distraction that let me get out of there."

Johnny kicked the arrow fragments that were on the ground. "I suppose he also shot you a few times?"

I breathed in deeply. "I don't blame him. Ephialtes and Otis almost scared me enough to cave in and talk to him about-"

"I'm going to guess that isn't gold paint," someone blurted out. As Dominic helped me up, I looked over at Percy. "It's either gold paint or something else."

His lips were chapped and he looked as if he hadn't eaten in a few days, but he didn't look as if any permanent damaged had been done. I don't know what made me think of it just now, but there was definitely something powerful about him. Maybe it was just the fact that he was the son of Poseidon. Or was it that he had the Curse of Achilles on him?

"Or something," I decided to say.

"So...?" he prompted.

"I'm a goddess," I said bluntly.

"What?" he asked, "Did I hear that right?"

"Your father and his brother officially named me a Minor Goddess of Visions, because of the things I see."

"The things you see?" he said slowly.

"There's a lot you need to catch up on," I told him, "But we should get going. I'm not sure if Ephialtes and Otis are going to stand being cheated of a goddess and a child of the sea god."

We began walking back the way they came, Johnny and Derick pulling the guy that had shot me after us. If Dominic hadn't been there, I would've fallen on my face after ten feet. He managed keeping me up by having his arm around my waist. Percy glanced at me every now and then.

"If you're a goddess," he said, "why can't you walk straight?"

"Think of what happened when you struck Ares in his heel, Percy," I replied, "He screamed. Gods can still feel pain."

"Oh. Right." He blushed a bit.

_How can you resist the offer?_

I stopped walking, closing my eyes.

"Avalon?" Dominic asked.

_You can still be mortal. You just need to betray your friends. Bring them back to the Grand Canyon._

I won't say that I wasn't thinking of how easy that would be. I could lead them through the wrong door and then I'd have my mortality back. I could practically feel the timeless feeling melting away.

I blinked and the feeling went away. Rage boiled inside of me. How could I be so weak as to accept that offer? How could I even _think _about it when it would only hurt me and my friends in the long run?

"Turn away!" Annabeth shouted.

I took a deep breath and my skin stopped glowing. I really needed to get the glow in the dark business under control. I put my head in my hands. The fact that I had gotten so close, that I had nearly become mortal again, it was painful. I heard the others shift back to look at me.

"Avalon?" Dominic said softly.

I shook my head. "She's going to make me go crazy."

"Avalon, everything is going to be okay," he told me, "You just need to hold out for a little longer."

"Okay, what has happened recently?" Percy asked.

Annabeth filled him in pretty quickly, told him everything that had happened since we got to Rome. She even told him about what I had asked her not to tell anyone.

"So... Mother Earth isn't really motherly?" Percy said.

"Not really," Annabeth agreed, "She's been able to talk to Avalon since last night. But what is she saying now?"

"While I was talking to Ephialtes..." The words stuck in my throat. How could I tell my friends that I had nearly gone over to the other side? How could I tell them that I had nearly betrayed them?

"She offered you your mortality back," Annabeth whispered.

My eyes stung as I nodded. "She said that if I helped her instead of the gods, she'd give my mortality back."

"And you refused?" Johnny gasped.

"I'm not going to betray you all," I said, blinking the haze from my eyes, "Not after all we've been through."

Something jerked at my feet, making me fall to my hands and knees. I saw that my foot was sinking in the sandy ground.

_You have chosen wrong, Avalon Gaery, _Gaea boomed in my head. Dominic pulled me up as the cavern shook, raining rocks down on us. We ran as fast as we could. I tried to go the same pace as the others, but my legs seemed to have a mind of their own. I ran _way _faster than the others. After a few minutes, I slowed down, way ahead of my friends. I was at a cross road. Something told me that right meant going back to the Grand Canyon and forwards brought us closer to Virginia.

_One last chance, _Gaea told me, _Mortality, or immortality._

When she put it that way, it made me wince. Dominic grabbed my arms as the others started moving towards the right hall.

"Don't!" I shouted, "Don't go that way."

They jumped and looked back at me.

"Why?" Grover asked.

"It leads back to the Grand Canyon," I forced myself to say, "Gaea wants us to go back there. We go straight, then we're in Virginia."

They immediately decided to go forwards. I could see a door ahead of us, but then a rock fell down and snagged Johnny's arm. If that wasn't bad enough, everyone heard a loud snap and knew that his arm had broken. Derick put Johnny's good arm around his neck as he slowed down and continued running. I kept the door open as everyone ran out onto a beach.


	17. A Lost Brother: Derick Yuley

Chapter Seventeen: Derick Yuley

Johnny fell down heavily on a bench, his left arm not moving with the rest of his body. Avalon sat down next to him.

"Perhaps I should look at that-" she began, only to get interrupted by a flash of lightning. She jumped out of her seat as if she had been shocked herself, letting Annabeth take her place. Annabeth gently rolled his sleeve up to his elbow. His arm was almost completely purple. Blood was seeping from a gash made by the rock. Johnny's face was pale.

"That is most definitely broken," I said.

"Hand me your Ambrosia," Annabeth told me.

I tossed her a bag as Percy walked up to Avalon. He seemed a bit better and he kept looking back at the ocean longingly.

"Why can't you help?" he asked.

Avalon looked up at the sky. It was a clear day, but lightning still cleaved it in two. She sighed.

"I'll put it bluntly," Avalon said dejectedly, "I am a goddess; gods can't interfere with mortal businesses, least of all a hero's."

"Then why did you help with getting me back?" Percy said, "You were interfering."

She flipped a drachma between her knuckles. "Midway through the quest, Zeus officially made me a goddess. I made a deal and he did not reject." She tossed the drachma to him. "Either way, even gods aren't completely held together by rules and strict measures."

Johnny winced. "Ahh... yeah, it's moving back to its original place."

I looked at Avalon. It was obvious that she had healed Dominic's arm before we went into the giants' chamber. If she could do that at will, I wanted her to do that right now for Johnny.

"You really want to help, don't you?" Percy said.

Avalon wore a pained expression. "I've never been able to deal with the suffering of my friends very well. But we really should get going. I have a bad feeling about this place."

Percy's hand moved to his leg, but he didn't have any pockets on his pants. He looked at Annabeth.

"Did you-" he began.

Avalon opened her palm. For a moment, light flickered dully right above her hand, but then a shape appeared in the glow. She offered a pen to Percy.

"How-"

"I'm a goddess, Percy," she said, slightly annoyed about getting asked that all the time.

"Right," he said, grabbing _Anaklusmos _firmly, "I guess we have to find a way to Camp Half-Blood. And _don't _say that we take a plane."

"I can't take a plane anyways," Avalon told him, "Zeus's domain."

"Pegasi?" I offered.

Avalon winced. "Perhaps," she said uncertainly, "If we are under the clouds."

"It's doable," Percy promised her. I didn't understand why they were so anxious about staying out of the sky, but it seemed like we were getting closer to going home again.

Avalon looked up at the sky. "It's fine with me."

Percy put his fingers to his lips and gave a loud, high-pitched whistle. A few of the mortals looked over at us. I rubbed my ear when Percy stopped and stepped further away from him.

"Can we please refrain from blowing everyone's eardrums out?" I asked.

Dominic nodded, the same bemused expression plastered to his face. "Yeah. Dude, you win the loudest whistle of the year award."

I heard a flap of wings and saw four pegasi land a few feet away, where no one was looking at them. One of them was black, which was pretty rare for a pegasus, but the others were a regular white color. I looked at Johnny.

"Do you think you can walk?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said, still barely able to move his fingers.

Annabeth looked over at the pegasi. "He can't ride one of them yet," she said, "We've gotta give him a bit longer to heal."

Something on the ground moved and hit Avalon's foot. I had nearly forgotten about him, but the guy that had shot Avalon moved his head sideways, a frown creasing his forehead. A welt was showing under his shaggy, blonde hair. His eyes fluttered open. Avalon stumbled backwards.

"Felix!" she gasped.

"You know this little twerp?" Dominic growled.

"Of course!" she said, "He's my brother!"

. . . . .

Felix sat up and put his back against a nearby tree. Even sitting down, anyone could tell that this guy, Felix Gaery, was at least six and a half feet tall. Avalon glared at him while everyone did a double take.

"He's your brother?" Dominic repeated, "Since when did you have a brother?"

"_Step-_brother," Felix and Avalon both said. They turned back to each other to glare some more.

"Okay," Dominic said, "You have a brother named Felix. And he just tried to kill you."

Felix pushed himself up straighter. I could see the similarities between him and Avalon: Topaz brown eyes, tall build, same brown highlights in their hair that was just like their mother's.

"You'd've known when I tried killing someone," Felix said, "I wouldn't st-"

"You never stop anything you're focused on," Avalon muttered. She looked like she was remembering a bad memory as she turned to looked at me. "He's your brother also, so make sure you don't kill him."

"He's a son of Hermes?" I scoffed.

Felix made eye contact with Avalon and looked at her as if to say, _You didn't tell them? _She gave him a skeptical glance, but I didn't know what they were thinking. Gods, sometimes when Avalon talked about her past everything got so complicated no one knew what was happening. Felix looked away from Avalon and back at us.

"Yeah," he said, "Hermes is my dad."

"What were you doing down there? Working for the giants?" Avalon snapped.

"Look," he seethed, "I didn't realize that it was you. I mean, how could I have known _you _were the goddess they were looking for? I haven't seen you in, like, eight years. And I was captured a long while ago. I'm surprised no one ever came looking for me, but-"

Avalon's face reddened, which was an improvement compared to the glowing she did. "Did it _never _occur to you that people thought it was _normal _for you to be so distant!?"

"Avalon-" Felix tried.

"You were _never_ there for anyone!" she shouted, "And anytime we were there for you, that mom and I just tried _speaking_ to you-"

"I shut you out," he agreed, "You knew nothing of the real world, Avalon. I knew they were going to use you once they found out about you, so I tried being as distant as possible. I never talked because I knew that you'd find out about yourself if I said one wrong word."

Avalon just shook her head, tears threatening to spill. Felix stood up.

"Thanks for getting me out of there," he barked, "but I don't think I will follow you to your precious little camp."

Annabeth narrowed her eyes. "How do you know about Camp Half-Blood?"

Felix pointed at Avalon. "_She_ knows. Why not ask her?"

Everyone turned to her.

"It is forbidden to talk about that," Avalon said, her voice a bit shaky, "Even you know that, Felix."

"Well, _you _shouldn't even be here, talking to _them." _He pointed at us again as if we were vermin. This guy was starting to get on my nerves. "Especially now that you're a goddess! They shouldn't even know about your existence."

"Well, they do," Avalon growled, "It happens. You've been explained about it once by Juno herself!"

"You mean Hera?" he asked, inclining his head towards us.

"Of course," Avalon said, "Hera, Juno – I don't care which one we're talking about! I don't even see how they're different from each other-"

Dominic touched her arm. "Avalon, you might want to calm down. The mortals are starting to stare."

She shook my brother off of her shoulder. "Go ahead and try making the journey again," Avalon snarled at her brother, "Ne quidem cogitare de vadens domum. Mater non suscipiam te!"

"Avalon-" Felix started.

"Nolite mihi vocare ut." Avalon was shaking with rage. "Vobis iuris habere nihil."

She stalked towards the pegasi that were grazing in the field. Dominic and Percy went after her. I shook my head.

"Not a good idea, dude," I said, "Upsetting a goddess."

"You don't even know me," Felix growled, "Trust me, if you knew the story, you'd understand."

"You could just tell us," Annabeth said.

Felix glanced at the sea with the same look on his face that Avalon had when looking at the sky. "I don't think that's possible. Now, if you don't mind, I'll be on my way."

He began walking toward the city. Grover looked at each of us.

"We can't just let him walk off like that," he said.

"Let him," I said bitterly, "If he can walk away from family _that _easily, let him."

Felix made it to the parking lot before I turned and walked over to my brother. Avalon was reduced to tears and was crying on his shoulder. I patted her shoulder. Dominic nodded to me as he soothed Avalon, silently telling me he had it under control. I could only imagine her position – her own brother giving up on her. And Felix was so distant that she didn't even talk to my brother about him. All of that feeling had just been forced out right then and there. If Dominic ever gave up on me, I'd probably hide under my bed for a year or so.

Percy was standing to the side, looking uncomfortable. The black pegasus pawed at the ground next to him. Percy nodded and patted the winged horse on the side.

"I heard you can talk to horses," I said.

"Yeah," Percy told me, "All equestrian animals. It's because, you know, my dad made horses."

I nodded even though I had never heard about that. "So you know this pegasus or something?"

"Oh, yeah, we have a pretty long history," he said, "Blackjack was onboard one of the enemy cruisers during the recent titan war. I got him out of there and he's kind of been stalking me ever since."

Blackjack whinnied in protest. Percy only laughed and said, "Yeah, sure."

One of the other pegasus reared. Avalon stepped away from him as Percy rushed over to calm the pegasus down.

"Whoa, whoa," Percy said, "It's alright, Guido, she's a friend. Her name is Avalon Gaery-"

Guido neighed and stepped back a bit.

Percy sighed. "She won't get blasted out of the sky. Pegasus are neutral territory. And since I'm giving her permission, Poseidon won't be angry either. She's already rescued me from a few giants, anyways."

Guido clopped back and forth as Johnny and Annabeth appeared at my side. Johnny could move his fingers now, but his arm still looked a bit purple.

"Avalon's having trouble with the pegasus?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said, "I think the news about Avalon being a goddess has been spreading."

Blackjack brayed as if to say something along the lines of, _You're telling me?_

Guido began calming down after a few minutes and let Dominic climb on his back. Like the gentlemen he was, he held out his hand for Avalon. Guido neighed as Avalon got up on him.

"Yes, I am sure she won't get us killed," Percy said, "It'll be alright, Guido." He looked at us. "Derick, Johnny, you two can get on Porkpie." He pointed over to another pegasus. "Grover, do you mind being alone on Robert?"

"Nah, it's fine," he said.

Once everyone got on their pegasus, Percy whistled to them and we took off. Avalon closed her eyes and buried her face in Dominic's back.

"Tell me when it's over," she pleaded him.

Dominic patted her hand sympathetically. "I will."

When I caught his eye, he blushed and looked away. I only shook my head. As long as he was happy, it was fine with me. He just needed to get the courage to say something to Avalon.

The pegasi started going faster and faster until our surroundings blurred. After a while, I started getting a headache because of the strain my eyes were going through. Then we stopped, a sudden _Wham! _that nearly sent me and Johnny off of Porkpie. I looked down.

Cabins were spread out below us. A giant, blue, four story house was parked in the middle of strawberry fields. People were filing into an arena. I nearly cried out in joy.

"How'd we get here so fast?" I shouted to Percy.

"Pegasi can fly really fast if they want to," he called back to me, "Blackjack, let's land near the volleyball courts."

The pegasi circled to the ground, startling a group of demigods and satyrs into dropping their volleyball. Everyone dropped off of their pegasus, most of us with shaky legs. Avalon still had her eyes shut tight.

"We're on the ground, Avalon," Dominic told her, "You can look."

She peeked out of the corner of her eye and then relaxed. "Thanks."

"They're back!" someone shouted, "They've got Percy!"

Avalon looked troubled. "Guys, we can't say anything about what happened to me at the Grand Canyon," she told us, "At least, not to any of the demigods."

"Why?" Percy said, "They deserve to know."

"Zeus's orders," she said shortly, "We should also talk to Chiron before anything else."

I looked over at the volleyball court. The demigods were frozen in shock, mumbling to themselves.

"We better go fast," I said, "They aren't going to be frozen in place for too long."


	18. Visitation: Avalon Gaery

Chapter Eighteen: Avalon Gaery

"Percy! Thank the gods you're alright!"

Chiron greeted Percy with a pat on the shoulder and the rest of us with a friendly handshake. Then he offered us drinks and chips and told us to explain everything that had happened. I started off the conversation with a friendly, "I'm a goddess."

Chiron nodded his head. "All the gods, creatures, and monsters know. From what I've heard, the monsters aren't backing off of you, though."

"I made a deal with Jup- Zeus, Sir," I explained, "It was either that or immortal punishment. I also cannot talk about my visions to anyone, so please excuse me if I come across a bit short when my visions cross with the quest."

"I understand," he assured me, "But please, tell me about what-"

Time seemed to freeze. Chiron stopped mid sentence, his mouth still open in the exact same position. Derick wasn't moving away from grabbing a handful of chips. Annabeth's gaze never moved from my face. None of my friends were even breathing.

A glow appeared in the middle of the room. A women in black robes stepped out from the shine. Her hair fell over her shoulders in black curls of silk. I raised an eyebrow.

"Juno?" I asked.

"Yes, Avalon," she replied, "There is one thing I need to tell you."

I waited for her to continue.

"I must adjust your friends' minds for the outcome of all life to end up well," Juno said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"They know too much," she replied, "I have seen the giants return from their graves, but it is not time for any of them to know of Ephialtes and Otis being alive."

I was speechless.

"Perseus Jackson will not remember being taken captive by the giants at all," she continued, "For all anyone knows, you all were only looking for a missing piece of equipment – a staff from the Hecate cabin that had gotten into the enemy's hands. You did not go Rome. You did not see Medea, but you were possessed by an evil witch. You did meet Epimethius and Prometheus. Washing up on California and all that happened at the Grand Canyon still is the same, but Percy was with you. The staff was in Reno's hands and Percy defeated him."

She snapped her fingers and a staff with a purple, dagger-looking gem appeared next to Percy.

"I'm guessing I cannot oppose you?" I whispered.

"Not at this time," she agreed, "But there will be a time when you may have the choice of fighting with me, or against me."

"I will never abandon the gods in a fight," I told her fiercely.

"I hope that is true," Juno said, "I will speak with you later tomorrow, Avalon Gaery."

As she disappeared in a puff of smoke, I looked back at Chiron, hoping that I didn't looked unnerved. The others did most of the talking.

"Once we got to Maine," Derick said, "we started looking for something that could show us the way to the staff. Eventually, we ran into Prometheus. He said he knew the general location of where we had to go, but we needed to find his brother first."

"We found him with an evil sorceress," Annabeth continued, "We were all charmed by her, but after she possessed Avalon-" I winced at the memory. "-we knew she wasn't nice. We defeated her and brought Epimethius to Prometheus, who proceeded to tell us that we needed to go to the Grand Canyon. Obviously, it wasn't long until we were attacked by another monster."

Dominic glanced at me as if something horrible had happened in the fantasy journey. I didn't make eye contact with him.

"Avalon got separated from us and was tricked by a kobalos – you know, those little dwarf things. Percy felt her presence near one of the small lakes we were near and we only just made it to see her walking straight into the lake. She couldn't stop walking into the water and it took all of Percy's strength to get her to snap out of it and get back on land."

"Some dolphins came up to us after all of that," Johnny said, "Grover managed to communicate with them and they gave us a ride to the coast of California."

I smiled at the memory.

"We were being chased by a gryffin when Avalon called on the Grey Sisters. They brought us to the Grand Canyon and we went to the Skybridge. We were attacked by a hydra and Avalon pushed it off the cliff. She went down with it."

My smile faded. "Apollo and Artemis took me to Olympus. It was then that Zeus and the gods that were present decreed me an official goddess. I can't talk about it much."

Chiron nodded. "That's alright. I know your position. But what happened next?"

The rest of it was all the same as I remembered, except I learned what the others' had been doing while I had been recuperating. They had searched and searched for me, until Derick had the smart idea of going to the factory to find out if they had me. They had lied for as long as they could.

"Avalon came in right at the right time," Grover said, "We were getting beaten down, Johnny was shooting lightning bolts everywhere, but he was getting pretty tired, and everyone was getting exhausted from fighting. This guy, Reno, was using the staff. Avalon came in, singing, actually. Her song made everyone drowsy, but the enemies even more so. Percy managed to go at Reno, and because of Avalon's magic, the table was balanced between them. When we got the staff, most of the demigods scattered. Avalon seemed to already know the layout of the place as she lead us to this door. Derick and Dominic picked the locks and we were out of there. The door gave us safe passage to Virginia, and from there we flew on a few pegasi to here."

"Very good, all of you," Chiron praised, "The staff could've done much evil against us had the other side gotten hold of it."

There was a bonfire where we burned shrouds made by our cabin-mates and sang a sing-along. Mine glittered gold in the fire light and all of my brothers and sisters were congratulating me on a job well done. Derick and Dominic's shroud both had a huge caduceus on it, the symbol of their father. From across the bonfire, Derick caught my eye and smiled. I had a feeling he knew that if we forgot about our enmity, Dominic would have a bit less stress on him.

After the party, everyone noisily got to their cabin, eventually. I was pretty sure that the Hermes cabin was the one with all the firecrackers exploding on their porch. I explained everything that had happened, at least, that my friends _thought _had happened, and no one asked anymore questions about the things I didn't know. They were all interested in what happened at the Grand Canyon. For obvious reasons, I didn't say a peep about the hydra. Then there was a moment of absolute quiet, and I drifted off into a dream-ridden sleep.

A kid a bit younger than Percy was running at a thirty foot tall, snake-legged giant. He had brown eyes and black hair, but then he began changing. Not his hair color or anything, but his actual body. He morphed into a large eagle and dove for the giant's eyes, raking them with his sharp talons. The giants stumbled as the kid landed on the ground in front of a girl with black hair and golden eyes.

"Frank..." Hazel Levesque stammered, "What just... how did-"

"Fool!" the giant bellowed, "I am immortal in my homeland, and that is Alaska, Frank Zhang! I cannot be killed here!"

The giant began moving and Frank charged towards him, shifting into a bear. Frank's momentum made the giant fall backwards when they met, smashing his head down on an icy spire. Frank changed back into human form, looking a bit tired, and ran to the giant's foot while taking out a piece of rope from the backpack that was, miraculously, still there. He tied it around the monster's ankle and tossed the other side to Hazel, who was still staring at him.

"Hazel, here!" Frank said, "I have an idea to get Alcyoneus, but-"

"You – you were a bird," Hazel murmured, "And then you were a bear, and now-"

"I'll explain later, but we need to get this guy further inland," Frank interrupted, "How far do you think Arion can take him?"

"But Percy!"

Frank looked over to where she was pointing and saw a whole bunch ghosts surrounding Percy at the edge of the glacier. In his hands, he held his sword, Riptide, and a flag that rippled with electricity.

"Percy!" Frank shouted.

He looked over. "Go! I can handle them!"

Then he stabbed his sword into the ground between his feet, and the whole entire corner of the glacier peeled off, sending everything around the son of Poseidon into the water-

I gasped, sitting up. Everyone was still asleep. The only sound in the cabin was my shallow breathing. How was Hazel alive? How did that kid, Frank Zhang, turn into a _bear_? Where did Percy find them? One of my sisters, Harper, turned to her other side and mumbled something in her sleep. I forced myself to take calmer breaths at a much quieter level and leaned back against the wall, just recuperating from the vision.

I knew all of the visions I've been having since I met Percy were connected. But how? My talk with Ephialtes popped into my head. _"You are not Greek, child, you are Roman." _I knew Hazel had been considered a daughter of _Pluto, _not _Hades. _But how could there be children of Greek parentage _and_ Roman? Could the gods switch between Roman and Greek? A pounding headache settled in on me and I stood up. Quietly, I walked out of the cabin, careful not to step on anyone's face.

Outside, I walked over to the pier at overlooking the ocean. Though I was close to the sea god's realm, I knew Poseidon couldn't punish me – not yet, at least. And I had a feeling that he was thankful that I had saved his son. He wasn't going to blast me to pieces anytime soon. Still, I respected his boundaries and kept my feet away from the water.

"Don't think about the Greek/Roman relation," someone said behind me, "It gives us gods headaches."

I didn't need to look at him to know he was Apollo.

"So you are Roman?" I asked.

He nodded his head. "I thought you knew." He pushed a hand through my hair guiltily. "I'm proud of you. Even though you were given the option of having all that you wanted, you chose to do the right thing."

"It wasn't easy," I said, "but I don't regret it."

In that way of his that was so nonchalant, Apollo stretched his arm over my shoulders. "There is still a lot you need to learn," he said, "And I guess you can learn from the best."

I smiled at him. "What do you need to tell me?"

"Well, what do you want to know?" he replied.

"Camp Jupiter," I said, "Should I go there, now?"

"You can go," he told me, "Just don't tell anyone that you're immortal. And watch out for Octavian. He can be a bit... Mercury-like."

"Who's Octavian?"

"He's like this camp's oracle, except, well, minus the green mist coming out of his mouth. He's quite fond of decapitating teddy bears."

"What?"

"It's nothing."

"Okay... The Greeks shouldn't know about the Romans? Why?"

"First off, you know about the civil wars that have taken place in America, right?"

I nodded my head.

"Well, almost all of them were started when the Greeks and Romans found out about each other. Something made them argue – stolen property, missing people, firing down by accident on one of their homelands. Then they set out on a quest to kill each other and the outcome is horrible. Just plain horrible. Losses from both sides. Humiliation when defeated. The Romans, more than the Greeks, should not know of each other. You have seen people who think before they act and only act when they know it is the right thing. Romans will, at one point or another, feel that honor is above all. Much like you couldn't bear the thought of your friends' thoughts of you being swayed ever so slightly."

"Juno has something planned for the Greeks, though. I think she is going to try uniting the two camps."

Apollo looked a bit troubled. "Let's hope that she knows what she's doing. If something goes against the odds that are already stacked against her..." He shrugged. "Well, Juno usually knows what she's doing, so I'm not all that afraid."

He put on a brave face, but I could tell that he knew the consequences wouldn't be all too good. I wanted to ask him what was wrong, but there were more pressing matters that were making me nervous.

"Do you know if I'm in the Prophecy of Seven?" I asked.

My dad sighed as if he had hoped I wouldn't bring this up. "I can't tell you," he said, "but think about what you have seen ever since you met Annabeth and Percy."

I thought about my dreams. Jason and Leo and Piper, they were important somewhere in all of this. And the two Romans, Hazel and Frank, perhaps they had a part, too. That made five, which left only two other places for anyone else was in the Prophecy of Seven... The one giant, Polybotes, had screamed, "You will die, son of Neptune!" As far as I knew, the only son of the sea god alive was Percy. And if Percy was going on a terrifying quest, Annabeth was going to want to be by his side the whole way. That made seven.

Then what was my part in the prophecy? I knew two of the seven. I was torn between Greek and Roman – friends, and blood relations. I had made sure that they hadn't gotten killed, I had helped the Fates, in a sense, bring Annabeth and Percy through a piece of life that should never had happened.

Man, I hated it when my life messes with other's lives.

"I'm still confused," I confessed, "If I am not one of the seven, how am I important in all of this?"

Apollo stretched, reaching his arms above his head and balancing on his tiptoes. "Just think about it. _You're _being warned about all this. _You _are the one being given the knowledge of the seven. And you know the whereabouts of them all."

"Or where they should be," I added.

"Yes. I'm glad you're starting to realize this," my dad said.

"Wait a minute, I don't know what you're talking about still," I told him.

He dropped back onto his feet. "Just think about what I said."

I thought about it. Maybe it was my nerves from the last vision I had getting in the way or something, but I couldn't think straight. My mind suddenly jumped to the conclusion of Gaea and Iapetus trying to toy around with me.

_Don't think about it, _Gaea murmured, _You don't need to let the gods make your life for you._

I closed my eyes, concentrating hard on just getting rid of the goddess.

_Now then, _she scolded, _That's no way to treat an old acquaintance._

I felt my dad put his hands on my shoulders and shake me lightly. I opened my eyes to look at him. Gaea was pushing for control over me, I could feel it. I felt as if part of me was dissipating, like how monsters just disintegrated into dust.

"Oh, jeez," my dad said, "Gaea's getting to you, isn't she?"

"Ever since I got back to the Grand Canyon," I said thickly.

He looked at my shaky legs. "Sit down," he said, "Then you won't fall over later."

I barely had enough will left to keep from slamming down on the pier, most of me was fighting off Gaea. I blinked as my visions went fuzzy for a moment.

"Avalon, let me talk to her," Apollo said next to me, "She'll only hurt you more if you don't let her talk for a moment."

Why did my dad want to talk to a psychotic goddess who wants to destroy the world? I had no idea, but my will was crumbling against Gaea's. I faintly remember a talk about gods fading or something because of losing their will to live. I didn't want to be like that, but I also didn't want to let Gaea anywhere near possessing my soul again.

"Avalon, let me talk to her," Apollo said again, "It'll be alright."

"Why?" I croaked, "Why do you want to talk to her?"

I winced and felt Gaea break through. I became absolutely still. My dad shook me gently.

"Avalon?" he said, "Are you alright?"

I raised my head. He started, instantly grabbing for his bow. My lips curled into a lazy smile.

"Apollo," Gaea whispered through my mouth, "How nice it is to meet you here."

"Let her go, Gaea," he ordered, "You have no right to take control of my daughter."

"You do not have any right to walk across me, and yet you do," she replied, "Hypocrite."

"Let her go," he seethed.

"I cannot," she said dreamily, "She will fight, but will not win. She will run, but will remain chased. Not even Jupiter can keep me at bay."

"Then take me instead of her."

Panic throbbed in my mind, which is probably what threw Gaea off for a moment. I managed to break through, gasping, and looked my dad in the eye.

"You can't take this burden," I said, my voice coming back to my own, "You _can't. _If you do..." My thoughts became jumbled again, but I managed to get back under control. "You're an Olympian. Too close to Jupiter... to other gods."

The sky was unnaturally still. My dad looked a bit surprised.

"Avalon, if she's in my head-" he started

"She'll be able to tell what you're doing," I coughed, "Insight into plans. Not a good idea." My eyesight became unfocused. "If she gets through... you won't be able to control yourself."

I convulsed into a tight ball, searing pain hitting my gut. Apollo held me as I twitched, slowly becoming motionless again. I closed my eyes, the icy feeling in my stomach dissipating. I shivered, even though it was pretty warm for the middle of November. The pain started up again and I jerked in my dad's hands. He stroked my hair, trying to make my pain less with his godly abilities.

"Shh," he whispered, "It'll be over soon."

Soon was an understatement.

I had no idea how long we just sat there, my dad making sure I didn't hurt myself while Gaea plagued me with unending pain. Apollo seemed to be a bit unnerved by what he saw, but was toughing through it for my sake. I whimpered, my nails digging into his shoulder. It was lighter outside by the time I stopped lurching in his arms.

"Are you alright?" my dad asked.

"Y-yeah," I whispered, "I think she's... I think she's gone for the moment."

He put my hands down by my sides and looked me in the eyes. "I can't stay much longer. If the other campers saw me... I'd be forced to talk to them and one of them would notice the difference about me."

I nodded weakly. I felt fragile, like each breath I gave out could be my last if Gaea wanted it to be. Apollo helped me prop myself up against one of the posts on the pier, so I didn't fall over. Then he disappeared, just a faint pop and he was gone.

I leaned my head against the post, fighting my eyes against closing. I vaguely saw someone running up to me. Someone with brown hair and blue eyes knelt next to me.

"Avalon?" It was Derick. "Avalon, are you alright?"

I took a shuddering breath and tried to speak, but nothing came out. My eyes closed on their own.

"Dominic! Get Will Solace!" Derick yelled as I passed out.

I woke up with a pounding headache. Groaning, I sat up. Someone stood up from next to me and gave me a glass of water.

"Thanks," I mumbled, shifting into a better position.

"No problem."

I looked up at watery blue eyes and black hair. I jumped out of the bed I was in, grabbing for my bow. I aimed an arrow at the man's chubby face. He raised an eyebrow.

"I was wondering what you'd do when you saw me again," he said.

"You voted to kill me, Bacchus," I snarled, "No wonder I'm a bit angry."

He shrugged. "Doesn't matter if you try shooting me; your arrows will never even reach me. But Hera wants to talk to you. And my name is Dionysus, not Bacchus."

I knew he was saying the truth. He'd probably turn the arrows into grape vines or something. Frustrated, I stormed out of the infirmary. I saw Juno, her eyes in shadows, her black hair falling out of her cloak.

"Avalon-" she began.

"No," I said, "I am not doing a single thing for you."

I jogged down the steps and was a few feet away from the Big House when she appeared in front of me. I stopped and turned to the left. Again, Juno appeared in front of me.

"I am not going to follow a single word you say," I shot at her, "You took away my friends' memories. They can't remember a single thing that actually happened!"

"It had to be done, Avalon," she said, "They can not remember about Ephialtes and Otis."

"Because it is not part of the plan, I know," I growled, "Well, what _is _that plan? What do you want from me?"

"You have not guessed yet?" Juno chuckled, "What can you do with the knowledge of where the seven are?"

"I don't know," I said, "Maybe I could-"

And then it hit me. Of _course. _That's what I was supposed to do.

"I'm the one that brings them together."

. . . . .

I waited for the goddess to say that I was crazy, that she had that covered, but she only smiled.

"So you see," Juno said, "you are the most important pawn on the chessboard."

I scowled. "I've always wanted to be a pawn."

"You should be thankful," she told me, "It is only because of this reason that Gaea has not killed you yet."

"Yeah, thanks for reminding me," I grumbled, "How can I even bring the seven together? _Why _would I screw up their lives?"

Juno shook her head. "What will happen if Gaea awakens? She will kill everyone, even your beloved Dominic."

I flinched. She had a good point. Gaea could cause an earthquake and kill everything on the earth's surface. Then she could start over again.

"Of course, you can visit the Roman camp, Camp Jupiter," the goddess said. I remembered the vision I had of the giant attacking a camp. "Maybe you can talk to a certain child of Hades about how Hazel Levesque is." I still had no idea of if Hazel was alive yet. The day she blew up that island, the day she died, was sometime back in 1942. "Frank definitely needs talking to, and Leo and Piper still need to get to Wilderness Academy."

"Why does it have to be me?" I asked, "Why can't it be someone else?"

Juno smiled wryly. "You are Roman, Avalon, not Greek. You have befriended the Greeks already and the Romans will be even easier for you."

"Okay," I muttered, taking a deep breath, "I'm a Roman, and I should've been trained by Lupa years ago, instead of Chiron. I also should've gone to Camp Jupiter instead of Camp Half-Blood. So what do I do now? Tell Chiron I can't stay?"

"I cannot tell you that," Juno said, "You have to find that out yourself."

And with that being said, she vanished with the breeze.

"Great," I grumbled, "Just when I thought I could sit down and relax."

"What do you mean, 'You can't stay'?" Chiron asked me. He said it kindly enough, but I could tell that he was upset about this.

"Chiron, I am a goddess," I said, "I cannot stay in a camp for demigods. And with some of the campers thinking that I can't be trusted-"

"The campers trust you, Avalon," Chiron argued.

"Clarisse and her cabin think that I am a spy," I said calmly, "My own cabin-mates can sense that there is something wrong with me. Me being away from here will only help everyone, especially you. If you fight to let me stay, the campers who don't want me here will rebel."

Chiron looked at me with sad eyes. It was easy to see that he didn't like losing one of his campers. "I can't persuade you to stay any longer, can I?"

"I am afraid not," I told him.

"Will you at least visit from time to time?" he pleaded.

I smiled. "I will do as best I can to come back every now and then."

He returned a relieved smile. "Anytime you want to come, you can."

I stood up. "Since that's practically everything I wanted to say, I think I'll go and say goodbye to Dominic and them."

I walked out of the Big House and down the steps without looking back at Chiron. I knew that telling Chiron was the easy part of leaving. The hardest part would be coming next. I made my way to the Hermes cabin and knocked on the door. Connor Stoll answered.

"Hey, Avalon," he said, "What's up?"

I kept my hand on my pocket, where I kept my wallet. "Do you mind if I talk to Dominic and Derick?"

"Sure." Connor looked over his shoulder, but the two Yuley brothers were already behind him. He got out of the way and Dominic and Derick came on outside.

"What's up, Fortune Teller?" Derick asked.

"Don't call me that," I hissed, "If the other campers found out, I don't even know what _could _happen."

"Alright, alright," he grumbled.

"What's wrong?" Dominic asked.

"I'll explain, but I need Percy, Annabeth, and Johnny first," I promised, pulling them both after me and passed the arena and armory, finally making it to the stables. Johnny, Percy, and Annabeth were grooming some of the horses and Percy's favorite pegasus, Blackjack. The pure black pegasus whinnied when he saw the three of us. Percy looked over, probably knowing what Blackjack was saying.

"Hey, guys," he said, "What's going on?"

"I wish I knew," Derick said, "I was just about to head over to the arena when Avalon came along and said that she needed to see Dom and I. Then she brought us over here."

"So..." Annabeth prompted, looking at me.

"I'm leaving," I said simply.

"What?" Dominic said, "Like, you're leaving Camp Half-Blood?"

I nodded my head. "I don't belong here," I told him, "And if the campers find out that I'm an Immortal... or that I can see the future..." I shook my head. "Most of them already think I'm working for the titans. My own cabin knows there is something wrong with me."

"You can still stay," Dominic said, "You're needed here at camp - your way of fighting is unique around here-"

"That's exactly my point," I said patiently, "I don't belong here."

"Where will you go?" Johnny asked.

"I don't know," I told him, "I'll probably just roam around."

"You can't go, though," Derick said, which really surprised me, "Avalon, you might be immortal, but that doesn't mean you won't get captured by the other side."

"I'll be fine," I assured him, "And I'll come by every now and then, I promise."

Blackjack neighed. Percy frowned at him.

"Dude, not cool," he said, "She saved my life."

Blackjack pawed at the ground nervously, brayed another sentence or so to Percy, and then tested out his wingspan. Percy shook his head.

"What did Blackjack say?" Annabeth asked.

"He says that Avalon freaks him out," Percy sighed, "and that she obviously doesn't belong at Camp Half-Blood."

"See," I said, "Even Blackjack agrees that I shouldn't stay."

"Don't listen to the horse," Percy begged, "He doesn't know what he's talking about."

"You need to realize that there is somewhere else I am needed. All I can tell you is that things aren't over yet with the battles. Things are going to get a lot worse, and every demigod will have to join up again. The gods will also have to get over their grudges with mortals, too. I'm sorry, but it is the truth. I must leave."

"There's no way you're going to rethink this, is there?" Derick asked.

I shook my head. "I do not wish to see you all saddened-"

Dominic suddenly rushed up to me and cupped my face. He pressed his lips to mine. My mind went blank for a moment. Then I began thinking of all the things we had been through, all the trials we had passed. Even after Juno took away his memories and swapped them for different ones, I was relieved that he felt this way.

And guilty.

Dominic pulled away and looked me in the eyes. He looked like a puppy who had thought about doing something forbidden, done it, and was hoping the price wasn't all too painful. I grabbed his hand and put it down by his side, but I didn't let go of it.

"I'll visit you, I promise," I whispered.

And like the coward I was, I ran away.


	19. The Story Begins: Avalon Gaery

Chapter Nineteen: Avalon Gaery

About two monsters a day came at me for half a week. I got no guidance of where I should go to start my journey, but I did start going west. I just followed my instincts, and soon I was in Northwest Pennsylvania. When I stumbled into a gas station, I probably looked pretty tired and beat up, because the guy at the cash register gave me some water and a biscuit to go, free of charge. I asked him if I could use his phone.

"There's one in there." The cashier pointed to a backroom. "It's right next to the door."

"Thank you," I said, hobbling into the backroom. I picked up the phone and dialed a number I barely remembered: Annabeth's. I knew she always had the phone near her, but I still had a feeling she might've left it in her cabin while she trained or something.

"Hello? Who is this?"

I was relieved when I heard her voice. "Annabeth, it's me, Avalon."

"Avalon? Are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm immortal," I laughed, "Of course I'm fine. I just... I just needed to talk."

"Yeah, sure, whatever's fine with you," Annabeth said, "But you should hurry, monsters are attracted to phone calls."

"They are?" I cursed under my breath for not listening to anything important. "Well, um, anyways, why doesn't anyone go over to the west, again? Over in California?"

"Mount Tam is over there," she answered, "On Mount Tam, there was the titan's stronghold, Mount Othrys. Atlas holds up the sky from there. Otherwise, the Mist is really strong over there, so it's dangerous for most demigods to go adventuring."

"Okay," I said, glancing back inside the shop. The cashier was still sitting behind the counter, looking at a TV screen with mild interest. All it showed was the news. "Annabeth, what would happen if I went to San Francisco?"

"A whole lot of monsters would be attracted to you, I guess. A few short-tempered gods live there, too... But I don't know exactly."

I looked back at the news. "Can you, um, tell Dom I said hi? And the others?"

"Yeah, sure."

"And tell Dom-"

I nearly dropped the phone when a picture of my face popped up on the TV screen. The cashier leaned forwards.

"Avalon?"

"Tell Dom that I'm sorry for just running off like that. I shouldn't've-"

The guy came into the backroom. "Is your name Avalon Gaery?"

I froze. I had never been really good at lying, and I didn't want to go back to my mom. The guy saw the answer in my face immediately.

"It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you, but there's a whole bunch of people looking for you-"

"I've gotta go," I said to Annabeth.

"Avalon, wait-"

I hung up the phone.

"Look, I don't want to go back to my mom. I hate her."

"You can't just walk out into the world by yourself, though, you'll get hurt."

"Dude, just turn a blind eye this once, or give me a head start. I _can't _go back to mother."

He shook his head. "I can't do that."

Sighing, I put my hand up and snapped my fingers in front of his face. He crumpled to the ground. I propped him up against the wall.

"Sorry," I said, and then bolted for the store. I first went to where the camera footage was getting recorded and pulled out the tape. Putting three drachmas on the counter, I stuffed some drinks and food into the backpack I kept with me. Yes, I was immortal, but that didn't keep me from being hungry at night.

I hurried out of the door and ran down the road. I had been running for about twenty minutes when I stopped to catch my breath.

"Running from a monster?"

I acted on instincts and pulled out my knife. Whoever was behind me caught my wrist and threw me over their back. I held onto their arm as I landed on my feet. In a flash, I had my knife under his jaw and his arm twisted behind his back.

"Okay, okay, you win," the guy said.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Nico," he answered, "Yours?"

I let go of him. "You're Nico di Angelo?"

He turned to face me, his skin unnaturally white, his dark eyes glaring at me. Pushing some of his unruly brown hair out of his eyes, he looked me over.

"What's it to you?" he shot at me.

"I've been looking for you for a little while," I explained, "Before getting to Camp Jupiter, I needed to make sure of something with you."

Nico sighed, absently twisting a skull ring on his finger. "Yes, I am a son of Pluto-"

"No, you're a son of Hades," I corrected, "Only because you met Hazel Levesque did you figure out about the whole Greek and Roman demigods being split apart-"

"How did you know that?" Nico grabbed at a black sword that was strapped to his side. "And who are you?"

I glanced at the sky apprehensively, but no lightning strikes followed my silent query. I brought my eyes back down to the twelve year old standing in front of me, an aviator's jacket several sizes too big lain on his shoulders. I took a deep breath.

"My name is Avalon Gaery," I said, "And there's a few things you need to know."


End file.
